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Conference moira::parenting

Title:	Parenting
Notice:	Previous PARENTING version at MOIRA::PARENTING_V3
Moderator:	GEMEVN::FAIMANY

Created:	Thu Apr 09 1992
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	1292
Total number of notes:	34837

1031.0. "Math-Starved!" by PCBUOA::DOONAN () Thu Oct 05 1995 13:43

My son is a third-grader at our local elementary school (in the Greater Boston 
area).

For several years now he has shown quite an interest and affinity for 
mathematics.  My wife and I are constantly amazed at how he can solve all sorts 
of problems, both numeric and word problems, and often using some pretty 
ingenious ways.

In first and second grade, the focus was on reading and writing, which we think 
is wonderful.  As a result he is an avid reader (can read far beyond his grade 
level) and an imaginative writer.  But there has been little focus on 
mathematics.  We kept on hearing that come third grade, there would be more 
emphasis on math.

Well, we went to a Parents Orientation Night last week, and were shocked to hear 
that there wouldn't be nearly as much math as we and other parents had hoped, 
and that by the end of the school year most kids would be proficient in areas 
that my son could do LAST YEAR!  Not only that, the few math problems he has 
brought home so far in September were simple adding of one-digit numbers.  My 
son was quite upset to see this.  "This is baby stuff?", he yelled one night.

Needless to say, we were distressed.  And it turns out that there are quite a 
few other parents who have long felt this way but were playing the same 'wait 
and see' game we were.

We plan to pursue our concerns with the appropriate teachers and school 
officials, but we feel we should be doing more than this.  So ...

A few of us adults have toyed with the idea of starting a 'math club' for our 
third-graders, all of whom are fairly bright and motivated (so say their 
teachers).  This math club would get the kids together on a regular basis to 
work on math problems that would challenge them and prepare them for future 
grades.

I've been looking in various bookstores in the area for math workbooks that we 
could use.  I actually bought one that looked pretty good, and my son has 
started working on it on his own.  But one problem I've seen with all the books 
I've thumbed through is that there don't appear to be any pages where a student 
has to tackle a slew of similar numeric problems, the end result of which would 
be a strong reinforcement of the skills needed to solve these problems 
correctly.  What I see instead are (ex.) two or three number problems, followed 
by a word problem, followed by maybe a few more number problems, etc.  Can the 
skills really be drilled into the kids when material is presented in such a 
manner?  What happened to the days when you did pages and pages of number 
problems?

Even my son's teacher says that the new mathematics curriculum they are using in 
our schools this year contends that you can become an expert in a type of math 
problem simply by doing it two or three times.  Maybe it's my old-fashioned-ness 
coming through here, but I just don't see how that can be.

Anyway ... does anyone know of a math textbook or math workbook that is out 
there in bookstores that you have found useful in supplementing the math taught 
in your schools?

Thank you for your feedback!

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
1031.1		NOTAPC::PEACOCK	Freedom is not free!	`Thu Oct 05 1995 15:49`	17
	No help on the workbook question, but a thought... Coupling this question with the ongoing topic on boredom that started recently, it might be worth thinking about doing your own problems... use real life situations - gardening, remodeling, budgets, cooking, etc to present problems with meaning. btw, I'm not sure about repetition or not, personally. I mean, do I want to teach rote memorization, or problem solving techniques? Maybe a little of both, but its a balance, that's for sure. I mean, it might still be worth memorizing addition and multiplication tables at an early age, but I'm undecided with regards to rows and rows of similar problems... fwiw, - Tom
1031.2		PLUGH::needle	Money talks. Mine says "Good-Bye!"	`Fri Oct 06 1995 11:24`	8
	A place that might have good advice is the home-ed mailing list. To subscribe, send a message to [email protected] with subscribe home-ed <your internet address> in the body of the message. j.
1031.3	CTY/EPGY Distance Learning Program	USDEV::PISAREVSKAYA		`Fri Oct 06 1995 13:06`	17
	Check out: http://www.jhu.edu:80/~gifted/ and http://www.jhu.edu:80/~gifted/acadprog/dlp.html or write to: The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth (IAAY) 3400 N. Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218 for information on CTY and Distance Learning Project. If you have any specific questions, feel free to contact me. Yelena
1031.4	Take a look at a book called Family Math	DECWET::WOLFE		`Mon Oct 09 1995 15:25`	4
	It has a number of projects for doing at home. It also outlines what it might take to do a "family math" night at you local school.
1031.5		NETCAD::BRANAM	Steve, Hub Products Engineering, LKG2-2, DTN 226-6043	`Mon Oct 30 1995 12:44`	49
	What about some of the math educational software like Math Blaster? I've never actually looked at it, but I knew someone whose son really loved it. He was about 7 or 8 years old. There are also many other programs to teach math, although many are probably oriented to the student who needs some motivation, as opposed to the motivated student who craves more. Personally, I never needed heavy repetition until calculus. This was nice in that I got through new topics in math quickly, but left me totally unprepared for dealing with calculus. I didn't succeed with it until I took my math teacher's half-joking "Do a hundred integrals over the weekend" seriously. Of course, that's a far cry from third-grade math. It sounds like you want a Schaum's series for elementary math. I don't know if there is such a thing, but that is their approach for high school and college math: several pages of the same type of problem to work on a single concept. I think the math club is a great idea, because your real alternative is to get creative. You become the teacher and push your child (then you will have to deal with his frustration at having to do the "baby stuff" at school!). If he seems to be especially good at creative solutions, you should really exercise this, because it is a godsend. Most kids have problems because they don't seek creative solutions. They just stick with the one way they have learned, and have difficulty applying it to variant situations. Start looking for books that require this type of thinking. Martin Gardner, Scientific American's math puzzler, has published several such books, though I'm not sure if any are for elementary age. There are also several books on "lateral thinking," where you very deliberately take a different approach to a problem, sometimes bizarre, but always creative. Taking the lessons-from-life approach, you can look at how math is applied in the real world and make up some problems to work. Construction is probably a good one for this age (measuring up lumber for a doghouse to minimize waste, calculating the amount of concrete to fill an odd-shaped hole, etc.). This also very quickly gets into compound fractions, typically a big math hurdle for people. Then you can actually build some of the things, or models of them, and check out the work. The world of physics offers lots of opportunities. Leaving the derivation of equations for later, there are lots of simple equations to work with and actually demonstrate in real life. This introduces powers, roots, and variables. Simple machines like levers and pulleys are also fun, especially since you can very easily build working models to play with. I've always been a big fan of the hands-on approach where you get to try things out for real. Try a few of these out, find out where he bogs down and work those topics a bit, and press on! Ever watch Bill Nye, Newton's Apple, or Beakman's World? These programs take an interactive experimental approach to science, most of it requiring math of some type. Do some of the things they show, or use some of the topics they cover. They may not discuss the math, but that's where you can pick it up.
1031.6		NETCAD::BRANAM	Steve, Hub Products Engineering, LKG2-2, DTN 226-6043	`Wed Nov 01 1995 12:48`	5
	BTW, just what math is a third-grader supposed to know or be ready for? I went to Montessori school until 5th grade, so I'm not sure what the public school curriculum for that age is like (especially since that was a quarter-century ago!). Is it just multiple-place addition and subtraction? Multiplication and long division? Fractions? Decimals?
1031.7		EDWIN::WAUGAMAN	If you're traveling back to Georgia	`Wed Nov 01 1995 13:34`	32
	> Personally, I never needed heavy repetition until calculus. This was nice in > that I got through new topics in math quickly, but left me totally unprepared > for dealing with calculus. I didn't succeed with it until I took my math > teacher's half-joking "Do a hundred integrals over the weekend" seriously. Of > course, that's a far cry from third-grade math. Hmmmm, that's the opposite of my experience. I think there's value in being able to perform basic math quickly, which for me required repetition (and I never did get that fast with it). As opposed to something like calculus, which is more conceptual, and where it helped me much more to understand what the hell's behind it all (differential, rate of change; integral, area under function, etc.) than the methodology (show me how to do one of each type, and the rest all follow the same). Of course it matters whether your teacher was giving you speed tests versus word problems... ;-) > BTW, just what math is a third-grader supposed to know or be ready for? I went > to Montessori school until 5th grade, so I'm not sure what the public school > curriculum for that age is like (especially since that was a quarter-century > ago!). Is it just multiple-place addition and subtraction? Multiplication and > long division? Fractions? Decimals? It's not too advanced (sadly). Entering 3rd grade, little or no long division, fractions, decimals. Add, subtract, multiply, and basic whole-integer division. This is from recent experience with public schools. I have no memory of what we (I) did; 1st through 8th is a long-forgotten blur... Glenn W.