Friend needs to afterschool ds who's struggling in math...

[lovemyboys]

What would you suggest for a friend whose son is struggling with 3rd grade ps math? She wants to start quickly so that he may avoid summer school this year and problems next year.

 

She's coming over this week to look at what we use to see if it would work for her. I think ds should also look at it to see if he gets it.

 

Any ideas for which program might give her good results? I'm asking here, because she won't be homeschooling and I don't know if a program like Saxon would work in a situation like this.

 

Any thoughts? TIA!:001_smile:

[threetreasurs]

ALEKS might be a good option.

[LibrarianMom]

Your frirend might want to look at some of the math resources from Evan-Moor.com. Or she could look at Math Mammoth or Developmental Math to zero in on the specific skills her son needs to work on. Free options include http://www.math-drills.com/ and http://www.freemathworksheets.net/.

 

LibrarianMom

[ack25]

I like the rightstart games for math for afterschooling, reinforcing and filling holes. If you need more drill, the free resources are helpful as are the Saxon math workbooks. I think it depends what kind of work your friend needs to do with her child - basic underlying concepts, drill and practice, mastery for concepts that are basically understood, applying concepts to word problems, reteaching from scratch....

[Mandamom]

or sometimes known as Flash Kids. I've used the first and second grade book and found it had a good teaching method (for comparison, I've used Singapore, Saxon, and A Beka) and it won't become overwhelming as the lessons are pretty clear. If she decides to try it it only costs around $10 or so and she can buy it at Barnes and Noble.

 

Also, my local school doesn't send home the books that the kids work out of (just worksheets) and if that is the case in her school it might not be a bad idea to see if she can borrow the textbook and maybe use that as a guide to make sure that her child understands everything.

[Sahamamama]

... while I don't have any specific recommendations for curriculum or workbooks, when it comes to math, I'm not sure that the particular program used is as important as the child's mastery of it.

 

What I mean is this: Your friend should spend her afterschool time finding her son's "holes" in math. What is he missing, that keeps him from understanding third grade arithmetic? Does he need to go back and count? (I am NOT kidding with this). Perhaps he needs to go all the way back to the beginning and begin again. This could end up being "quicker" than trying to "catch up."

 

Math is just one of those subjects, that, if you don't "get it," you don't get it, and then you get "behind." But the best thing your friend could do would be to really back up and find out where her son's gaps are.

 

Also, if it is possible for her budget, she might want to look into a tutoring service, such as Kumon or Sylvan. My husband's brother struggled with (it turns out) 4th grade math (years ago). His parents took him to Kumon Learning Centers and today he has his Ph.D. in molecular cell biology! So, get the basics down, and the rest will follow. HTH!

[lovemyboys]

Thanks for such great ideas, everyone. I'll help her explore these. She's coming over this week to figure some of this out. I agree, Sahamamama, the most important thing is for her to figure out what's missing or weak and work on that. I've been talking with her about adjusting her pace to achieve mastery regardless of what she uses.

 

You've all given me alot to help her with. I really appreciate it. Thanks.

[Sahamamama]

... I have been thinking about this young student. I, too, struggled with math for years, and it pains me to think that this boy is going through "math angst."

 

Here are some things that I have thought about for a loooooong time:

 

1. If I could give one piece of advice, I would say (again) that math MUST be about mastery. What matters more is not the pace, or keeping up, or catching up, but really knowing what you know. Why did I struggle with Algebra 2 in high school? Because I had never really mastered what for me was 7th grade math -- fractions, ratios, percentages, decimals, distributive principles, and so on. GO BACK TO THE GAPS and fill them in. Lay your foundation well, do not fret about the walls and roof yet. He is in third grade, good grief, there is time, no matter what the school says.

 

2. Number Charts: Get this boy to work with and play with a 100 chart (a chart with numbers arranged in rows and columns from 0-100, or 1-100). These are available from a teacher/parent store for about $2, or you could simply make one on posterboard. Have him count 0-100. Have him count by 1s, by 2s, by 5s, by 10s. Have him reverse count. Point to random numbers to be certain he can "name" them. Have him place a marker (coin, chickpea, M & M) on any number and add 9 -- can he see the pattern? 17 + 9 = 26; 34 + 9 = 43; does he see that the 10s column becomes one more, while the ones column becomes one less?

 

3. Help him make a number line: ...-5, -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.... This can be a helpful tool for those who struggle with the abstract nature of conceptual arithmetic. It also helps us understand negative numbers.

 

4. Teach him addition/subtraction facts together.

 

5. Teach him all the multiplication "tricks" -- 0s (any number times 0 equals 0); 1s (any number x 1 = the number itself); 2s (count by 2s); 5s (count by 5s); 10s (count by 10s); 9s (do you know the 9s trick? Have him place both hands flat on the table in front of him. If the problem is 9 x 4, he will fold under his 4th finger from the left. This leaves 3 fingers to the left of the folded finger, and 6 fingers to the right. So, 9 x 4 = 36. Try it with all the 9s facts. It works). Now, he has mastered the times tables for 0, 1, 2, 5, 9, and 10. That is more than half! He has to memorize facts for 3, 4, 6, 7, 8.

 

6. Play math games. Number Bingo. Dominoes. Connect Four. Sorting into groups. Copying patterns of blocks/legos. Puzzles. Sudoku. Play money/store. Give him an allowance/chore money, figure out the tithe/savings/spending. Cut a pizza up into halves, fourths, eights, and eat it. Bake. Let him play with a big tub of rice or dried beans and measuring cups/spoons. Check the library for books on math games.

 

7. Regularly integrate conceptual words into conversations -- some, more, less, many, few, greater, lesser, half, whole, quarter, group, part, sort, pattern, hours, minutes, seconds, inches, feet, pounds, ounces. Talk about these concepts during everyday events, such as shopping, cooking, doing laundry, playing sports. Read books from the library on these concepts (such as Sorting by Color and Some, Many, More).

 

These are just some things that have helped this "math dunce" to understand arithmetic better over the years. I think that for many, many people, mathematical understanding simply takes time. Your friend might also want to check out Trivium Pursuit's recommendations to forego formal math altogether for children under 10 years old. I'm not sure how that would work in a ps setting, but she could certainly read the articles on the Trivium Pursuit website, and maybe just give the boy some more time to develop. I do hope this helps.

[BabyBre]

I second the RightStart Math Games! We veered off of Saxon because I was so impressed with RightStart. It turned out not to be the right fit for my dd so we went back to Saxon, but we still use the RightStart fact strategies (which I find superior to Saxon's), the abacus, and the card games. The card games have been most helpful.

[Guest Professor Homunculus]

 

... while I don't have any specific recommendations for curriculum or workbooks, when it comes to math, I'm not sure that the particular program used is as important as the child's mastery of it.

 

 

 

What I mean is this: Your friend should spend her afterschool time finding her son's "holes" in math. What is he missing, that keeps him from understanding third grade arithmetic? Does he need to go back and count? (I am NOT kidding with this). Perhaps he needs to go all the way back to the beginning and begin again. This could end up being "quicker" than trying to "catc

h up."

 

Sahamama, - Man, is that the truth! I have my own commercial website about basic math, and more often than not, I tell people NOT to buy my stuff, but to go out and get a copy of Asimov's "The Realm of Numbers" (out of print, so you may have to get a used copy if you can't get it at your library) or "Playing with Infinity" by Rozsa Peter (Dover Books).

 

Brian at MathMojo.com http://mathmojo.com/chronicles

[happycc]

Try Professor B. I had good luck with it with two of my kids.

[skimerinkydo]

One year my dd went to afterschool tutoring in math and they simply played math games.