3rd grade math, how much time each day?

[Zebra]

Ugh. I am having some math problems lately! But knowing something is wrong and trying to figure out exactly what it is are 2 different issues!!!

 

My main question is, how long does your dc spend on math each day for 8 years old/3rd grade? We are using CLE, and it's taking probably 1 1/2 hours each day. All the sudden it seems like my dd has hit a wall. And after a lot of aggravation and teeth pulling, I think PART of the problem (and there is more than one problem here!) is that dd doesn't know some of her math facts that well. Even though CLE drills every day, she's having a hard time with multiplication facts. When she hits a multiplication problem, instead of knowing it, she has to sit there and count it out on her fingers. That's part of what is taking so long.

 

So, I am going to start drilling her on the just the facts SHE needs to know, not the ones CLE assigns every day. I am also going to spend 1 hour total a day on math. I'm going to drill, and do part of the lesson and just stop after an hour. Then we will pick up the next day where we left off. There is just this point with kids where you can only make them do so much, and then there brain turns to jelly, KWIM ;)?

 

I am also mildly concerned because CLE is launching into division, and she still struggles with a lot of her multiplication facts.

 

I'm just curious how much time your 8 year old spends on math? My daughter is a young 3rd grader, and not a strong math student. What do you think is too much time at this age? I wouldn't count playing a fun math game towards this total. And, have you ever gotten to that point (where I am) where the math is just seeming like torture, and you need to dial it back a bit?

 

:bigear:

[Xilka]

My son was 8 last year, and we did about 45 min. x day.

But he likes math.

Maybe start with 30 min x day and build up.

[Mommee & Baba]

My 3rd grader spends 45 minutes doing math work. We do review on Friday's that include games, and alot of hands on fun that are all related to math.

 

Anything more than 45 minutes with my 1st grader OR my 3rd grader they begin to get the glazed over look and it's not worth the lack of work they get done after the 45 minute mark. They get a very good amount done in the 45 minutes because they can stay focused and know that when the timer goes off at 45 minutes they complete the problem they are on and close their binders. We don't require pages to be finished per day. The only requirment I have is that all pages have to be completed before we move on to the new part of the math book.

 

When I first began teaching my children math I required them to complete an entire page..sometimes taking them 1.5 hours. Then I became very aware that my MATH LOVING dd's were started to DISLIKE math and it was solely because I was cramming 1.5 hours of it as a requirement every school day. BLEH!

 

I've noticed with my 1st grader she was ahead in math at the beginning of the year and just yesterday my dh noticed that the abacus was holding my dd6.5 back! I was shocked to hear him say that. The minute he pulled the abacus from her and put the number line in front of her she cleared a complete math page in 20 minutes! :001_huh:...my dd8.5 was also going VERY slow with the abacus and I thought it was a great tool...(in which it is when you are first learning the lessons)...but now I've realized that even my dd8.5 who is very teaching tool heavy enjoys her Cuisenaire Rods 1,000 times better and gets her math really moving when using them versus using the abacus! So you might have someone look in on her math and see if maybe something you don't even clearly see is holding her back. I didn't even realize this and if it wasn't for dh staying home yesterday and diving right into our school day to see this BIG red flag of an issue I would've still been trucking on and holding the girls back!

 

My 3rd grader doesn't know her facts on the fly, and she can't add or subtract in her head rapidly at all! My dh saw this as a HUGE flaw in how I was teaching. I was a bit boggled but then he suggested a few other techniques for teaching these sorts of things. The number line, fingers, and even songs! Of course I thought of all those....but the abacus was easier. BIG mistake! :confused:

 

I guess with all that rambling I just did the question to ask is...what tools do you use to teach her? They could be holding her back or confusing her.

 

My 3rd grader is good at multipcation with TOOLS, but knowing them my heart is NOT in her mind YET! Because I haven't pushed her to memorize her facts! :( She's about to launch into division as well and I really can't move her ahead until we get her facts a bit more managed. I think I'll be spending the remainder of January having her finish her 3A book of Math Mammoth before even beginning to consider printing off her 3B portion. I thought finishing ALL of the book is required by the next grade year. That's obviously not true. I just need to get her to pass the chapter tests before moving on.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

My oldest is a 7yo second grader and she spends about 30-45 (toward the longer end if she's dallying) minutes a day on math. Math is not her strong subject. What I ended up doing is using two curricula and alternating between them. We are using both RightStart and Singapore. We use one for a while, and when she gets stuck, bored, or we get to a good stopping point we switch to the other. It takes us longer to get through the curricula this way, but for her that's a good thing. It keeps math from getting over her head and gives her more than one way to think about problems.

[Bloggermom]

CLE Math takes my 3rd grader approximately 20 minutes. I also have her use Math Rider and Timez Attack for extra reinforcement. I really think it helps us get through the CLE faster because she doesn't have to calculate the addition/subtraction/multiplication facts out manually each time.

[Zebra]

This is what I was thinking....that it's taking 90 minutes, it's taking TOO LONG! I think we've just hit a bump in the road. We're in lightunit #7, and it just seems like it's suddenly gotten too hard. She needs to stop and learn her facts right now. Ugh :glare:....:lol:!

 

If you are only taking 20 minutes doing CLE, that can't include the speed drill and flashcards, can it?

 

I think part of the problem is that I've let CLE teach her the math facts. I haven't sat down and figured out which ones she knows, and which ones she needs to work on more. So, she's doing drill every day, just not necessarily the drill SHE needs to be working on.

[Jess4879]

I think we total about 45 mins/day. We do math fact review in the morning and then later on we do a math lesson and the workpage/assignment. Some days it is all hands-on and then we may review math facts or something again.

[Perogi]

We are using Math Mammoth and Singapore and dd is spending about 30 min. Could be a little longer if she's not staying focused. And that doesn't include playing the math apps on the iPad randomly throughout the day.

[Bloggermom]

If you are only taking 20 minutes doing CLE, that can't include the speed drill and flashcards, can it?

 

 

We do the speed drills, but not the flashcards. I figured they get enough repetition through Math Rider and Timez Attack. Plus, it is easier on me to not have to sit there and drill with her.

[Tigger]

7yo DS is doing SM 3A and we spend about 30-60 minutes a day with math - totally depends on the lesson and the WB/IP problems to be done that day. On Friday's we review, play games and do some CWP's so usually just 30-minutes.

[Julie Smith]

We scatter living math books and subjects around - geared more towards my youngest though.

 

His actually sitting at a table working on math is about 10 to 15 minutes a day. More then that and it's like trying to stuff something into a full bag. The more I put in the more that falls out, and the process only makes the bag angry and grumpy.

[lakshmi]

We use RightStart and they both take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes without a game. With a game it takes 10-15 minutes longer.

 

If your daughter seems like she doesn't know it then I would go back and start over. I did that once with my youngest and it helped her. Made me end up doing two math lessons a day but worth it to see her understanding!

[Mommy22alyns]

I try not to time things, LOL! Just guessing, 45 minutes or less, and that's with CLE and TT.

[keyjoh62080]

My DD8 (3rd) spends about 30-45 mins on math. We use R&S though.

[jennynd]

DS7 is doing 30 mins on 2 days and 1 hours another 2 days. We clock it so we won't go over. I found the productivity is not there after 1 hour.

We are afterschool though

[3peasinapod]

We use CLE3 and it takes 45 minutes to an hour. Can you break the speed drills and beginning warm-ups to another time of day? This is what I do.

[Mrs Twain]

My 3rd grader does at least one hour of math per day, but often it takes 1.25-1.5 hours. We spend one hour at the beginning, then finish up what needs to be done later in the day, so it is not more than one hour at a time.

 

We use Horizons (including the speed drills, flashcards, TM concept lessons), as well as one page of CWP per day. It is really important to drill the flash cards IMO. It is a big pain, but it is necessary.

[TracyP]

My dd8 spends about an hour on math each day. She spends about 30 min on the CLE lesson and drill. (we don't do the flashcards)

 

You might want to check out xtramath.org. It will keep track of which facts need work and practice those until they are mastered. The only downside is that it starts with addition and I don't know if there is a way to skip to multiplication. On the plus side, it is free.

[Sahamamama]

I think PART of the problem (and there is more than one problem here!) is that dd doesn't know some of her math facts that well. Even though CLE drills every day, she's having a hard time with multiplication facts. When she hits a multiplication problem, instead of knowing it, she has to sit there and count it out on her fingers. That's part of what is taking so long.

 

So, I am going to start drilling her on the just the facts SHE needs to know, not the ones CLE assigns every day. I am also going to spend 1 hour total a day on math. I'm going to drill, and do part of the lesson and just stop after an hour. Then we will pick up the next day where we left off. There is just this point with kids where you can only make them do so much, and then there brain turns to jelly, KWIM?

 

A 3rd grader who has not mastered basic multiplication facts is not unheard of ;), but... she does need to master them. I agree, there is only so much seatwork you can do in a day. I also agree that if your daughter doesn't have certain facts mastered, then that needs to be the focus. So she doesn't burn out with one approach, try multiple tactics:

 

• Sara Jordan's Math Fact Songs -- I highly recommend these (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division)! She can sing her way to math fact mastery. :D
  
• Math Wrap Ups
  
• Multiplication Bingo (by Trend)
  
• Math websites -- Some of our favorites are Adaptedmind.com and Kidsplaygames.com. We also like Amathsdictionaryforkids.com, but this is not exclusively for drill.
  

For you, the teacher, I also recommend viewing/studying/practicing Maria Miller's structured drill strategy. You can find that on YouTube, under Math Mammoth. I think this is the link (I'm having a technologically-challenged day):

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/user/mathmammoth

 

 

The one you want is entitled "Structured drill of the multiplication tables." Doing structured drills the way Maria teaches them ties in to having learned the skip counting/multiplication songs with the Sara Jordan CDs. Then you will really find the gaps in the facts your students do and don't know! :001_smile: I also appreciate that Maria recommends short practice sessions (10 minutes), twice a day, for better retention.

 

 

One other activity I've done in tutoring has been to print out a simple 10 x 10 (or 12 x 12) multiplication chart, and then discuss this with the student. Show here what she DOES KNOW. This is so critical, IME, with children who struggle. They think they will never get there. We need to show them what they HAVE learned, and what is left to master. So...

 

• Give her a highlighter and have her highlight the 0s -- because any number 0 times is 0. She knows this.
  
• Have her highlight all the "1x" -- because any number times 1 is the number itself. She knows this.
  
• Same for x2 -- If she can count by 2s, she knows this.
  
• Same for x10 -- If she can "tack on a 0," she knows this.
  
• Same for x5 -- If she can count by 5s, she knows this.
  

This leaves us with 3x, 4x, 6x, 7x, 8x, and 9x (and 11x & 12x). Usually a child is relieved to see what is left! The more overwhelmed the student is with multiplication, the better this works. ;) Do you know the "nines trick?" So that takes care of 9x. I've seen students work hard on 3x and 4x, which are easier to figure out if you don't know them cold. I'd suggest working on 6x, 7x, and 8x first. These seem to get short-changed in the rush to division. HTH.