Kids do better on the board than worksheet?

[Moonhawk]

Recently for math, my kids have been getting 60-70% of the questions right on their worksheet.  This was a bit surprising, since they have always done well in the past.  But, I figured that we are covering something harder now, and the change was due to the difficulty increasing.

 

But, for the past 3 days, I've had them do their questions on the board instead of their worksheet (originally so I could watch both of them easier to see what happens and step in).  They get the questions right 90-95% of the time.  So I'd have them do the question again, this time on the worksheet, and they get it wrong.  

 

The mistakes they are making are varied (multiple digit multiplication) -- they forget to carry, they carry to the wrong place, they forget to add what they carried, they just add incorrectly at the end, etc.  It's not one issue that keeps cropping up.  And a lot of the problems seem to do with a messy paper, especially for my son.  He simply can't see the 1 he carried, lol, because he made it so squished above the other numbers trying to fit it in, or his 2 is bigger than the 5 above it so when he adds he pushes everything over and what was supposed to be in the 100's place is now a 1000's.  

 

So what do you do in this situation?  They get the concept, can describe it correctly with all parts, and can accurately do it well under a set circumstance (i.e. the board).  But, they can't consistently perform on worksheets, either due to messy writing, or maybe they start to rush/skim when the problem is visually smaller? Do you continue to stay on this topic until the worksheets are consistent with the standard, or do you say that they can consistently show they know that material on the board and that is enough?  Copy the worksheet but blow up to 150% so that the problems are bigger and they have more room to write?

[EKS]

I used a whiteboard exclusively for math when my kids were your kids' ages.

 

Then, once they transitioned to prealgebra or algebra, I had them do their work on paper, but we still kept using the whiteboard for lessons.

[Heather in VA]

I agree with EKS. My youngest needs the whiteboard. We have used it exclusively until this year. She's in pre algebra now. We still use the whiteboard a lot. She does lots of practice on the whiteboard before moving to problems on paper. She needs it more than my older two did but I have no issues using it at all. 

[Janeway]

The board is generally a novelty. Plus, Mom is usually watching when on the board. As a result, they tend to be more careful there.

[bensonduck]

Using the board allows DD7 to write larger and use different colors, both of which help her organize what she is doing and leads to fewer mistakes.

 

I just wish she wouldn't persist in using her fingers to erase the whole board when she is done. Huge mess!

[wendyroo]

Your 5 year old is doing multiple digit multiplication?

[Ravin]

Have you tried graph paper?

[fralala]

I put lots of extra pieces of paper on the table. (Graph paper would work well and might even approach the board in novelty effect.)

I also am a firm believer in hovering and swooping to say, "Hold on, can you quickly explain to me why you're putting that 1 right there? Catch me up!" (doesn't always mean someone is wrong, I just like to keep 'em on their toes) And in going over at least a few problems together and chatting about them-- we can't do that if I can't read their handwriting.
Maybe assign only one or two problems in the workbook at a time until this passes? I've had to do that in the past when sloppiness was intruding until we got over the hump.

[Clemsondana]

There really could be something about writing on a big board that helps your kids, independent of novelty and supervision. When I was in grad school, I would go into empty classrooms or conference rooms to draw out the biochemical pathways that I was studying. There was something about having all of that space that made it easier to let the ideas flow freely, even though I had notebooks full of paper that I could have filled. In college I remember using posterboard to chart out a particularly complicated topic, and I have had students tell me that they made big posters to study from, too. For at-home study, I would use a smaller whiteboard, but I always tested myself using something bigger than paper. Maybe it's using more muscles than just your fingers to write, or the act of standing while you work, or maybe your brain just processes it as having 'enough space', but it can make a difference.

 

With my kids, I have to look at math on 2 levels - do they understand the concepts (if they do, we can keep going) and are they paying attention to detail. A math teacher friend suggested having them work missed problems again without looking at the previous work, and then letting them compare the 2 to look for mistakes. If the mistakes are careless, they probably won't be the same both times. Eventually, hopefully, they'll get titred of doing the same problem over and over.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Larger paper? 

 

I find some worksheets just don't give enough space so I often hand write them in pen on separate sheets giving lots of space.

 

 

[regentrude]

Are these pre -printed worksheets? They may simply be designed poorly and not have enough space for the student to show work neatly.

Use graph paper, have the student copy the problem to the paper, and then work one problem per sheet. The student needs to learn to use as much space as needed for the problem, not just the limited amount of space some worksheet provides.

Use colored pencil for things that cause trouble: signs, carrying, etc.

[ScoutTN]

Ditto the others' suggestions of color and graph paper. I print my own graph paper at home for youngers - 1/2" squares. 

 

My kids like the whiteboard just for a change of pace and it helps to keep them cheerful about their work. Whatever works!

[Moonhawk]

I used a whiteboard exclusively for math when my kids were your kids' ages.

 

Then, once they transitioned to prealgebra or algebra, I had them do their work on paper, but we still kept using the whiteboard for lessons.

Okay, so it seems to be just a normal thing.  Which is too bad, I'm running out of markers, lol.  But, good to know. :)

 

 

Have you tried graph paper?

 

No, I haven't actually.  Normal graph paper is way too small.  But, I'll probably try ScoutTN's advice of printing graph paper with larger squares, and see how big would work for my son.  I might also try an overlay with marker, now that I think about it, just to save paper; I could see him using 1 sheet per problem.  

 

 

Yes, they are pre-printed worksheets, from MUS.  Since we've gotten to longer multiplication problems, the space for writing definitely has not been enough, especially for my son.  I think it's not so much they are poorly designed, though, as much as he needs to write bigger than most kids.

 

 

Your 5 year old is doing multiple digit multiplication?

 

Yes, he likes numbers and patterns and such.  It makes for interesting play dates.  Also less play dates, lol. 

[EKS]

Yes, they are pre-printed worksheets, from MUS.  Since we've gotten to longer multiplication problems, the space for writing definitely has not been enough, especially for my son.  I think it's not so much they are poorly designed, though, as much as he needs to write bigger than most kids.

 

Have you updated your signature recently?  Is your son 5yo?  If so, you might want to reduce the writing load even further by scribing for him.  I used to let my children decide who would write (sometimes they would even decide to switch writers in the middle of a problem!).  I still write for my 14yo occasionally when we are going over something new, and I want him to use his brain for thinking rather than writing (even though he goes to school, we still work together on math).

[wathe]

Space in MUS Gamma for multi-digit multiplication is definitely too small.

 

I rule vertical lines in pencil to help keep place value aligned.

I sometimes rewrite the problems in the margins  to creat space, or separately on graph paper.

 

 

[vonbon]

DD8 just said a few days ago that she prefers doing math on the white board.  Easier to write everything out and think.  Says there's not enough space in the margins of the workbook to write out her work.  Plus, she's the type of person who doesn't want any "scratch" work, mistakes or writing on her pages, so maybe the board allows her to be a bit messier and freer.

 

[Costco sells packs of dry-erase markers.] 

[countrymum]

Miller pads and paper sells many sizes of graph paper. I think they go up to like 1" squares. I just ordered some it wasn't too expensive.

[Heathermomster]

Free printable graph paper link follows:

http://customgraph.com/SG/piart.php?art=654

 

I print using a light gray.