freerange Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 How do you teach/encourage good presentation in maths? Dd has lovely handwriting, but her maths written work is all over the place. I don't want to turn maths into a chore! At the moment maths is something she likes and is good at, but as she gets into algebra I can see this becoming more of a problem.is there anything apart from maths copy work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin in VA Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 We use graph paper and I've taught my son to work from left to right with the order of the problems. Before this, his numbers never lined up which caused math errors and the problems were all over the page. He would start out going left to right in order 1,2,3... and then fill in problems wherever they would fit on the page. So, #21 might be next to number five because he was using all the available space on the page. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez J Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 We use graph paper and I've taught my son to work from left to right with the order of the problems. Before this, his numbers never lined up which caused math errors and the problems were all over the page. He would start out going left to right in order 1,2,3... and then fill in problems wherever they would fit on the page. So, #21 might be next to number five because he was using all the available space on the page. :tongue_smilie: Graph paper! And, just what ^ she said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 :iagree:Graph paper. Also, all NZ schools have students "line" their notebooks. You draw a line in a bright color across the top (where you put date, topic etc), and down the middle to create 2 columns for your work. Lining the notebook in a different color pen really makes the whole thing look cohesive. The 2 columns are a nice width for math problems and almost all algebra problems. Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deniseibase Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 :iagree:Graph paper. Also, all NZ schools have students "line" their notebooks. You draw a line in a bright color across the top (where you put date, topic etc), and down the middle to create 2 columns for your work. Lining the notebook in a different color pen really makes the whole thing look cohesive. The 2 columns are a nice width for math problems and almost all algebra problems. Ruth in NZ Ruth, thanks for sharing this, what a great idea! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freerange Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 Already using an exercise book with squared paper. I'll try brightly colored margins next. Art is her thing, so maybe I can appeal to her sense of aesthetics. Thank you all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smillard00 Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 We used graph paper to solve the problem of not aligning the numbers and getting wrong answers. But this didn't bring the neatness that I thought was needed for our future in Algebra. I came to the conclusion that they needed to see what I was talking about. So, once or twice a year, I will work a page of problems so they can see what I mean about making it neat and easy to read/grade. I think if they can see what it should look like, then they have something to work toward. I will also count something wrong if I can't read it without guessing. So if their 4 looks like a 9, then I will mark it. They can always come back to me and make the case that it is really a 4, but I make them work for it. And if their numbers/work get really sloppy, then we will have a little math "handwriting" practice. When they are 12 years old, they really hate this! :D But it gets my point across. I remind them that they need to write clearly so I can read it, but also so they can read it themselves. Sometimes they make an error because they can't read their numbers either. And I remind them that I won't always be the one grading their papers and a college grader will not have any patience for sloppy work. You want the person grading your paper to be calm and in a good mood--more partial credit! And a neat and tidy paper brings on the calm/good mood. Extreme? Maybe, but their papers are looking better and they are making fewer mistakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Just as an observation, there can be different causes for this. In our house, I think (even after all my trying) dd barely gets the idea that work needs to be shown, that paper is your external memory, that things line up a certain way for a reason. So you could be hitting against personality (just bent a certain way), a physical problem (eyes, dysgraphia, etc.), or just a fundamental brain difference. We're back to me watching her do every single problem as she does it with me, on the whiteboard. That's the only way to know it's getting done the way I need it. Brain differences, gotta love 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 As others already mentioned: graph paper! Also, tell her what "neatness" means in very specific terms, such as: align all equal signs underneath each other have one digit per square leave a blank line between lines leave two blank lines between problems double underline, or draw a box around, final answer ... and whatever else you want her to do. I think "neatness" may be a hard concept for kids (like "clean up your room"), they may find it easier if it is broken into specific steps ("put all books on the shelf" - or: line up all equal signs.) Make sure she does not feel she has to save paper and squeeze her work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freerange Posted October 6, 2011 Author Share Posted October 6, 2011 As others already mentioned: graph paper!Also, tell her what "neatness" means in very specific terms, such as: align all equal signs underneath each other have one digit per square leave a blank line between lines leave two blank lines between problems double underline, or draw a box around, final answer ... and whatever else you want her to do. I think "neatness" may be a hard concept for kids (like "clean up your room"), they may find it easier if it is broken into specific steps ("put all books on the shelf" - or: line up all equal signs.) Make sure she does not feel she has to save paper and squeeze her work. Thank you Regentrude! :blush::headdesk: I'm so used to having to be very, very specific with my other DD, and this one usually just intuitively picks up how to do things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 :iagree:Graph paper. Also, all NZ schools have students "line" their notebooks. You draw a line in a bright color across the top (where you put date, topic etc), and down the middle to create 2 columns for your work. Lining the notebook in a different color pen really makes the whole thing look cohesive. The 2 columns are a nice width for math problems and almost all algebra problems. Ruth in NZ Yes, graph paper and two columns. This was standard for my undergraduate and graduate math classes. Just fold the paper in half (hotdog fold) to get two columns. That helps a lot with the problem of wanting to conserve paper and still be neat. I didn't see anyone mention this rule, though I may have missed it: all equations go on a single line by themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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