You are not in Math class when your child learns a new concept. Here are some tips and websites with videos that may help you assist your child with their math work.
The math your child brings home may look different from the math you remember doing as a child. How can you help if you don't understand the way they were taught? How can you guide them without just giving them the answer? Often, our first instinct is to teach them the way we were taught. However, this can lead to more confusion or to your child not understanding the work in class. Here are some tips to help you help your child:
- Go over the directions with your child and find out what they don't understand about the assignment.
- Ask where they think they should begin. Talk less, listen more!
- Look for a sample problem on the homework page.
- Suggest that they draw a picture to show the problem or explain their thinking.
- Ask guiding questions such as "What should you do next?" "Is this answer reasonable?" "Did you answer the question?" "Can you solve it another way?
- If they continue to struggle and clearly don't understand the math, contact the teacher, ask for recommendations.
- Remember to resist the temptation to do the homework for them. The greatest impact on a child's attitude about math is the parents' attitude. Show an interest and curiosity to figure it out.
Here are some websites with short videos which explain many of the concepts your child is learning in class. The math children are learning today is much more about problem solving, developing a strong number sense, and seeing how numbers and concepts are connected. It is much less about memorizing facts and computation steps.
LearnZillion
https://learnzillion.com/math
Watch Know Learn
http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Category.aspx?CategoryID=81
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/ - there are a lot of great strategy videos; search for the concept or skill you want to learn about
Take a look at a sample below:
