If you assign your dc to do a specific math assignment...

[smilesonly]

....they finish it in 20 mins, getting the majority of the problems right, do you call it good for the day? I am assuming the dc corrects any missed problem.;)

 

Or, do you reevaluate the amount of work you are requiring and, for the next day, pile on more work, or tell them they need to work on math to near perfection for one hour?

 

Thx!:)

[freerange]

I try to strike a balance between the two. I sit with them for maths so I can adjust the number of problems required according to their understanding & speed. I don't set extra work just so they meet a quota for number of minutes spent on maths, but I do sometimes move them on to the next exercise if they've whizzed through something with ease. If it continues to be a pattern, we move through the book faster than originally intended & move on to the next level, or add in other things for breadth. Does that answer what you were asking?

Edited September 28, 2011 by freerange
fingers asleep!

[smillard00]

Yes! If they are getting the concept--understanding and accuracy--then move on to something else. Math taxes the brain enough. It doesn't have to go on for an hour to be effective. I would rather have 20 minutes of good focus than an hour of distractedness or drudgery.

[Teachin'Mine]

IMO math should be worked on for at least an hour a day in high school. We've actually been doing that since we began Saxon. If the student finishes in 20 minutes, I would take it to mean that the material is too basic or not challenging enough, the assignment was too short, or a combination of the two. Even in the elementary grades Saxon suggests that a lesson should take one hour. When the lessons were too easy, dd was finishing them in 1/2 hour so she did two lessons a day. When she got to more challenging work, then the lesson took an hour and we were doing one a day. I know that other math programs are different, and not all students need review, but to me that's the key to math mastery for most students. It takes lots of practice for most, some only need to see a concept once and they won't ever forget it, but they are definitely in the minority.

[MtnTeaching]

IMO math should be worked on for at least an hour a day in high school.

 

:iagree: We do not use Saxon, but I do believe that review is huge for our household. My two kids work at least an hour a day on math with a lot of review thrown in there. It seems to be the only way that they retain it more than a couple of weeks.

 

Having said that, I know there are kids out there that seem to be able to work some problems, nail the concept, move on, and still have that concept down months later. It just doesn't happen that way for us.

[smilesonly]

:iagree: We do not use Saxon, but I do believe that review is huge for our household. My two kids work at least an hour a day on math with a lot of review thrown in there. It seems to be the only way that they retain it more than a couple of weeks.

 

Having said that, I know there are kids out there that seem to be able to work some problems, nail the concept, move on, and still have that concept down months later. It just doesn't happen that way for us.

 

Well, at this time, my dd isn't one to nail a concept and retain it. She does need review.

 

How do you add in review?

 

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful replies!:001_smile:

[regentrude]

Well, at this time, my dd isn't one to nail a concept and retain it. She does need review.

In that case, I would make sure she does an hour of math and not just 20 minutes (if that is a regular occurrence; if it happens once, I'd let her be done but give her more/more challenging work the next time.)

 

How do you add in review?

 

What curriculum is she using? A good math curriculum should have built in review, either through a spiral approach, or through recurring of earlier concepts within the problems of new concepts in a mastery approach.

 

If the review from your curriculum is not sufficient, give extra problems periodically: either write some yourself, pull them from earlier lessons of the book, or use free worksheets from the internet.

[smilesonly]

In that case, I would make sure she does an hour of math and not just 20 minutes (if that is a regular occurrence; if it happens once, I'd let her be done but give her more/more challenging work the next time.)

 

It doesn't happen all the time but I feel it happens too often.;) The catch is that I feel if I require her to move on, learning more-she will get too much info at once, miss too many problems and ultimately get discouraged.

 

What curriculum is she using? A good math curriculum should have built in review, either through a spiral approach, or through recurring of earlier concepts within the problems of new concepts in a mastery approach.

 

If the review from your curriculum is not sufficient, give extra problems periodically: either write some yourself, pull them from earlier lessons of the book, or use free worksheets from the internet.

 

It doesn't happen all the time but I feel it happens too often.;) The catch is that I feel if I require her to move on, learning more-she will get too much info at once, miss too many problems and ultimately get discouraged.

 

She is doing remedial math using Lial's BCM. She wants so badly to be doing Algebra but, I cannot rush her-tried that and it backfired on us. Lials' is mastery, with an end of the (long) chapter offering review of both the chapter and previous chapters.

[smilesonly]

Okay. Duh!:banghead: :blushing:

 

She is in 9th grade.

Doing remedial math.

Math was once her favorite subject.

She is willing to do as much or as little as I ask. (In regards to math, anyway!):glare:

The internet offers plenty of review, as does her math book if I simply asked her to go BACK and REWORK past problems.:tongue_smilie:

Good grief!

Yes! My dc DOES need to work at math for a good hour-or even more.

:smash:

[oldskool]

Can she move on to the next lesson if the first one is done so quickly? Maybe move through the book at a faster pace?

 

By the way, my 9th grade dd is also using BCM as a review instead of starting off right away with Algebra 1. It was such a hard decision b/c of course it seems now that a student is behind if they are starting Algebra 1 in 9th instead of 7th or 8th. Not starting in 9th seems really far behind. I can see the benefits already though and hopefully whatever math dd does in the future will be better understood/less of a struggle.

 

Lesley

[smilesonly]

Can she move on to the next lesson if the first one is done so quickly? Maybe move through the book at a faster pace?

 

By the way, my 9th grade dd is also using BCM as a review instead of starting off right away with Algebra 1. It was such a hard decision b/c of course it seems now that a student is behind if they are starting Algebra 1 in 9th instead of 7th or 8th. Not starting in 9th seems really far behind. I can see the benefits already though and hopefully whatever math dd does in the future will be better understood/less of a struggle.

 

Lesley

 

Yeah, she can, but the end of each chapter(as you know) is only tons of word problems. Word problems are the hardest for her, so I am limiting them at this time-not skipping-just limiting. I mean, there are a TON of word problems in each lesson. Holy cow!!:D :tongue_smilie:

 

I don't even need to feel behind for my dd as she feels very behind.;)

[regentrude]

Yeah, she can, but the end of each chapter(as you know) is only tons of word problems. Word problems are the hardest for her, so I am limiting them at this time-not skipping-just limiting. I mean, there are a TON of word problems in each lesson.

 

I do not understand the logic behind this. If word problems are difficult for her, that should be a reason to do more of them, not less. It is when the student can translate the word problem into math and solve it that you see she has understood the math concepts and is not just mechanically following some procedure. Students who can only do the mere computations but not word problems have not really understood the math and need more practice in that area.

[Teachin'Mine]

I do not understand the logic behind this. If word problems are difficult for her, that should be a reason to do more of them, not less. It is when the student can translate the word problem into math and solve it that you see she has understood the math concepts and is not just mechanically following some procedure. Students who can only do the mere computations but not word problems have not really understood the math and need more practice in that area.

 

My thoughts too.

 

Sounds like you could easily fill out an hour by having her do the word problems instead of skipping them. Not only does it demonstrate mastery, but it's the type of problems she'll see on the SAT.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

Word problems are the hardest for her

 

 

Have you seen this? Maybe this will help!

[Ellie]

Why punish success? :confused:

 

I say if someone has completed his assignments correctly, then he's earned the time to spend on anything else.

[regentrude]

Why punish success? :confused:

 

I say if someone has completed his assignments correctly, then he's earned the time to spend on anything else.

 

But it could also mean that the work is not challenging enough on a continuing basis - so what looks like "success" is actually only "too little work".

[Murphy101]

I do not understand the logic behind this. If word problems are difficult for her, that should be a reason to do more of them, not less. It is when the student can translate the word problem into math and solve it that you see she has understood the math concepts and is not just mechanically following some procedure. Students who can only do the mere computations but not word problems have not really understood the math and need more practice in that area.

 

I agree. Word problems are almost never skipped here. I will skip some of the other math problems, but almost never a word problem.

 

That said, for some kids an hour as one block on math is exhausting, so it might be just as effective to break it into two 30 minute math sessions per day. Maybe you could have her do 1/2 the odd problems only in the morning and the other 1/2 after lunch?

[smilesonly]

I do not understand the logic behind this. If word problems are difficult for her, that should be a reason to do more of them, not less. It is when the student can translate the word problem into math and solve it that you see she has understood the math concepts and is not just mechanically following some procedure. Students who can only do the mere computations but not word problems have not really understood the math and need more practice in that area.

 

Good point. However, she has around 25 word problems a day on top of the 30(ish) computations. I am not a math person but, that seems like a lot. Is it?:confused: I have her do half that amount, thinking it would be enough.:confused:

 

My thoughts too.

 

Sounds like you could easily fill out an hour by having her do the word problems instead of skipping them. Not only does it demonstrate mastery' date=' but it's the type of problems she'll see on the SAT.[/quote']

 

Good point!

 

Have you seen this? Maybe this will help!

 

Thanks! I have ordered two different books that I am hoping will help with solving word problems. One is Problem Solving from Math Essentials and the other is Painless Word Problems.

 

But it could also mean that the work is not challenging enough on a continuing basis - so what looks like "success" is actually only "too little work".

 

This has been a bit of a debate at our home for some time. It is difficult to truly understand. I just know that her history with math is so awful; her time spent in PS messed her up and wasted so much time.

She has been tested as highly gifted by a child psychologist but after her time in PS she seems to have lost her math brains.:confused:

 

I agree. Word problems are almost never skipped here. I will skip some of the other math problems, but almost never a word problem.

 

That said, for some kids an hour as one block on math is exhausting, so it might be just as effective to break it into two 30 minute math sessions per day. Maybe you could have her do 1/2 the odd problems only in the morning and the other 1/2 after lunch?

 

See above.:)