6th grade math...how to build number sense?? Help!!

[mybluesky]

My dd (11) is in 6th grade in ps, and I am just now figuring out that she really has trouble with number sense. She has managed to do ok in math in school so far because she has a wonderful memory, has all her math facts down, and is a pro at following formulas. She is incredibly organized. But within the last year she has had more problems with math, really struggled on our state-mandated testing, takes FOREVER with her homework, needs lots of hand-holding, and after a very revealing conference with her teacher, we've figured out that because of her lack of number sense she is very inefficient with how she solves math problems, and therefore is incredibly slow. (She has a reading disability, and we have been so focused on that I'm afraid math has taken a back-burner with us.)

 

Please, would anyone have any suggestions about what math curriculum might be good for us to work on at home, to help develop a strong number sense and a real understanding of the relationship between numbers? (Our ps has used a very controversial math curriculum that they have now ditched, and I think it has left some real holes in her understanding.)

 

Any thoughts/advice greatly appreciated!!

[Arcadia]

Any math curriculum using manipulative would help with number sense. We use pennies, dimes and dollar notes.

 

Cross post to the K-8 sub forum and you would be able to get more responses.

[TippyCanoe]

nm

[mybluesky]

Thanks so much for all the ideas, everyone!! Doodler, the Number Talks book looks especially great! And I forgot about the 24 game...we have that one and need to pull it out.

 

Good idea to cross-post...I'll do that!

[Rosie]

Either Crewton Ramone videos or the videos linked in my signature below would work wonders for her development of number sense! And they are free! You'd just need to buy the manipulatives.

 

Also, Challenging Word Problems from the Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum would be good. Start at level 2 or 3. To see what they are like, you can check out the Thinking Blocks website, which is just an online (easier) version of what is in the books.

 

Oh, and if she struggles in one or two particular areas, then the Math Mammoth Blue books would be great to use. HTH!

[OSUBuckeye]

Positive and negative numbers - get a number line and practice adding/subtracting until she internalizes the patterns. Taking an image of a football field with yard lines, and setting the fifty-yard-line to zero, positives on the right and negatives on the left, makes it more visually interesting than a standard number line.

 

Multiplying - use manipulatives like the colored square tiles to make arrays. It seems easy making 6 rows of three tiles (especially compared to traditional right-or-wrong muktiplication drills), and then when she's done setting up the assignened tile pattern, you can ask how many total tiles she has. The first few times she will count, but soon she will "get lazy" and realize that learning her multiplication table is less effort than counting every problem. The tiles also help establish the relationship between multiplication and area (important in algebra & geometry).

 

Dividing is taking a number of square tiles and splitting them into equal rows (24/3rows=8). Squares can be built by making 3x3 in tiles, adding around the side until you get 4x4, 5x5, etc). You can estimate imperfect squares, too (square root of 20 is more than the 4x4, but not quite up to 5).

 

Understanding which operation to use when - I agree with the previous poster who suggested Singapore Challenging Word Problems, as well as their suggestion to begin with the earlier grades. The problems are organized by the minimum math content you need in order to solve them, but that doesn't mean that they are easy on the brain in terms of logically reasoning the problem out. Why start off doing mentally challenging problrems with big, un-fun fractional numbers when you could achieve a similar growth in critical thinking while working with two and three digit numbers that are seen in real life?

 

Also, for pre-Algebra critical thinking, Hands on Equations could work well. They have a cheap iPad app or a more expensive home math kit. The word problems book helps a child read through a word problem and set up the appropriate equation to solve it. It is a program geared toward 3rd-8th grade.

 

I listed strategies, but for curriculum in your case I would recommend Math Mammoth Light Blue (or Blue, if you'd rather focus on specific areas rather than filling in all the gaps). There should be a pretest for grade levels online. Again, don't worry if she tests into 4th or 5th grade - remember that this is review and extra practice so it can be "review" rather than viewing at as a sign that she's behind. My guess is that once these issues click for her, she'll gain more than a full grade level in understanding anyway.

 

Good luck!