Math

May & June 2021

Dinglehopper to Diamond, Snarfblatt to Scalene: Using the 4C's to Foster Parent-Child Math Talk

My daughter's current favorite movie is the Disney classic The Little Mermaid. As many of you will recall, the main character is sixteen-year-old Ariel, a mermaid that longs to explore the forbidden world of humans. She spends her free time collecting treasures from sunken ships; however, because the items are so different from anything she's seen before, Ariel is forced to consulate an outside source for more information. That source? Scuttle the sea hawk - who despite having observed humans for years, truly has no idea what he's talking about. He consistently mislabels Ariel's treasures, most notably when he tells her a fork is called a dinglehopper (a hairstyling tool) and an old tobacco pipe is a snarfblatt (a type of musical instrument).

For many parents and caregivers, it has been several years since our own Elementary Mathematics class days. Like Ariel, we want to know more (especially so we can support our children!), but we simply don't have the tools or prior experience. After all, there's no denying that math just looks different than it did when we were in school. So how can we avoid calling a Diamond a Dinglehopper and what on earth does our 1st grader mean when they're saying vertices?! By participating in routine math conversations with our children using the 4 C's as a guide.

Converse

Math is everywhere! Have conversations with children centered around their everyday activities. Use questions to drive the conversation including "How many? Which items go together? Why do you think that is true?"

Count

A wide variety of counting experiences help children to develop strong number sense. Count the number of items in a pile, such as a block tower. Count forward and backwards.

Compare

Encourage children to recognize and compare the many attributes of items including quantity, size, shape, color, etc. Puzzles are a great way to explore this concept - color, pattern and shape are all compared when determining where to place a piece.

Categorize

Sorting and classifying are both skills that support math achievement, while also aligning with everyday life skills. Help children to determine and discuss why an object does (or doesn't!) match the others in a set.

ource: Betts, A. L., & Son, J.-W. (2020). Fostering Parent–Child Math Talk with the 4Cs. Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK-12, 113(10), 791–799. https://doi.org/10.5951/mtlt.2019.0161

Quarter 4 Math Learning Goals:

Kindergarten:

Identify the number that comes before a number between 0 and 10.
I can identify the number that comes after a number between 0 and 100.
Model and solve single-step story and picture problems with sums & differences within 10

Family Resource Site

Looking for ways to help your child with math at home? Wondering what topics they're covering in class or searching for resources you can use? The Brand-New VBCPS Elementary Mathematics Family Resource Site is the perfect place to look! Organized by grade level & units of study, these activities support specific math skills while building on your child's natural curiosity.

As always, our goal is to encourage and engage, never to frustrate. The site provides resources that are leveled to meet your child's needs, while creating a fun experience for you to participate in together! CLICK HERE to access the site. After exploring the overview page of the site, you can click on individual grade levels at the top to access those specific resources.

Report abuse