When you give a math assignment...

[EmilyGF]

Do you correct it the same day and have the child rework wrong problems?

 

Do you correct it later in the day and have the child redo problems the next day?

 

Do you write new, similar problems to see if they understand?

 

How do you handle wrong problems?

 

We've been doing RightStart side-by-side since we started but now use CWP also, and I'm having issues with correcting and reworking and consistency (on my part). I've done the first, but often he's tired by the time I give the problem back.

 

Thanks,

Emily

[Crimson Wife]

I do either #1 or #2 depending on the day. Whether or not to assign additional problems of the same type depends on whether it is a conceptual error or a careless calculation error.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

I check the work immediately after he is done for ds10. Then he sits back down to figure out what he did wrong, or I sit with him and explain and we work through the confusing problems together. I don't like to wait and chance him learning the wrong thing from the lesson. With ds13, he checks his own work right away, and corrects errors. If he has a question he can't figure out he comes to me to explain. I look through da13's completed work once a week to make sure he is doing it.

[texasmama]

I generally work side by side with the kids so I am present in the moment to explain errors. This has worked well for my kids.

[LittleIzumi]

Immediately after and she redoes them. She gives her math right to me when she's done. If I notice it while she's working I'll have her fix it then.

[Five More Minutes]

If I notice it while she's working on it, I stop her there and ask her to think about the question again -- especially if it's just a calculation error.

 

If I'm not able to be right beside her while she's working, I try to correct her work as soon as she's done and ask her to correct any mistakes. But if that doesn't happen, then she looks at the corrections first thing the next day.

 

I rarely have her do more questions of the same kind unless I think it's conceptual issue, in which case I slow down, go over the lesson again, and add in some extra questions along the same line.

[Dana]

I'll hand back the work immediately with wrong answers marked. He has to correct the errors. If it's something that was a really silly mistake or something he goofed because of sloppiness, sometimes I'll just tell him he has two errors on the page and he has to find them and fix them.

 

I want him to be able to check his work with math and find errors. Just being told what's wrong doesn't reinforce the importance of doing the work correctly.

 

There are some word problems where I'll have him work on it for a couple of days. If he doesn't see how to do the problem after working with it for a bit, rathere than giving him the answer, we'll set it aside until the next day when he tries again.

[regentrude]

My kids now self-check and correct wrong problems.

When they were younger, I would check immediately and have them redo wrong problems.

[sassenach]

Right after they do their work, they do speed drills. While they're doing the speed drill, I correct their work. If it's a lot if errors, I reteach the lesson the next day with a mom worksheet. If it's just a couple, I have the child do them over after speed drills- I talk through if necessary. If the kid is just really burnt out for the day, and they just missed a couple, I let it go and we don't do any corrections.

[EmilyGF]

I want him to be able to check his work with math and find errors. Just being told what's wrong doesn't reinforce the importance of doing the work correctly.

 

 

Good point!

 

Thanks for the insight.

 

Emily

[Cosmos]

We work for an hour on math and then move on to other subjects, so depending on where he is he may do corrections on the same day or the next. But he always does corrections before moving on to a new section. After doing corrections, if it seems like he needs more practice I may assign more problems from the book (I don't assign all of them to start with) or from another source.

[elizabeth rose]

I sit with them while they are doing it. Most of the time with both ds7and dd9 I do the problem myself on a white board while they are doing it in their book, then we compare answers. If they are wrong we re-do it. I wish I didnt have to do it this way, but otherwise they get very very frustrated.

[Trillian]

I generally work side by side with the kids so I am present in the moment to explain errors. This has worked well for my kids.

 

 

This, math is not easy for hm and I don't want him doing a bunch of problems wrong, learning them that way, and having to unlearn it.

[dbmamaz]

my younger one does very little in the way of practice problems, so i am usually there with him. my older one checks his own answers in the back of the book and calls me over to help if he cant figure out what he did wrong.

[LittleIzumi]

I'll hand back the work immediately with wrong answers marked. He has to correct the errors. If it's something that was a really silly mistake or something he goofed because of sloppiness, sometimes I'll just tell him he has two errors on the page and he has to find them and fix them.

 

I want him to be able to check his work with math and find errors. Just being told what's wrong doesn't reinforce the importance of doing the work correctly.

 

There are some word problems where I'll have him work on it for a couple of days. If he doesn't see how to do the problem after working with it for a bit, rathere than giving him the answer, we'll set it aside until the next day when he tries again.

 

 

 

Ooooh. Excellent points. Hmmm....

[Dana]

Ooooh. Excellent points. Hmmm....

 

 

 

Expanding slightly (or really overexplaining) now that I'm at a keyboard...

 

I find it helpful (some) to think about what is the point we're trying to make with an assignment.

With an essay, it's not just to whip out something and hand it in. I want my son to have the experience of revision. I want him to know that writing is about a process.

 

With math, I want him to have the skills at the elementary level, but I also want him to be getting training for later levels in how to think.

Showing steps is crucial for someone reading his work. Math has conventions and notations just like English does. Just the correct answer is meaningless unless it can also be explained.

 

I don't stress this for every problem... some can be done mentally, but I do require work to be shown regularly.

Math isn't just about getting the correct answer. It's about struggling with a problem, trying different approaches, and maybe never figuring out a problem. Not at the arithmetic level... but that's where CWP and IP with Singapore is so great for providing the challenge of math. These are where I'll give him 5-10 min on a problem and then just set it aside for another day. Yeah, I could show him how to do it, but he wouldn't have the experience of struggle that I find crucial for later math experiences.

 

I want him to be able to go back and check his work - just like revising an English paper - and catch his silly arithmetic errors. I want his work to be clear enough that he can follow his thought process looking back at it days later. I want him motivated enough to do the work right the first time (that's when I'll say "Two errors on this page. Fix them.") When he shows clear work on a word problem, that's where I may say, "Your error is here," but if there isn't work clearly shown, he just gets, "This problem is wrong."

[serendipitous journey]

I spot-check as he goes & I am able, then correct immediately usually; always that day. I show him errors and he fixes them; I don't assign more work that day unless the circumstances are very unusual. For real trouble spots, I either halt that day's assignment and spend some time on the particular trouble area or give more problems of that sort the next day.

 

I'm sure some of this depends on the student's age -- Button is 7.

[myfunnybunch]

I correct math immediately and the student reworks wrong problems immediately after we correct the page. If the problems are incorrect the second time, I work with problem with them, together, to figure out what he isn't understanding, and he practices that lesson again the next day.

 

I struggled with inconsistency in grading time. Sometimes I'd do it right away, sometimes in the evening, sometimes I'd forget. So I made correction a part of the lesson. Each student brings me his math along with the teacher manual as soon as he finishes the lesson. I read the answers, the child circles any wrong answers.

 

What helped with immediate correction the most was that my boys really got excited about getting A's on their math. ( :confused1: LOL No idea where this came from. Cartoons? Friends in school?) So they bring me their papers right away with a red marker, and they want a big grade at the top of the page. I give full credit for correct answers and half credit for corrected answers no matter how many tries or how much help it takes them to correct the problem. Since they initiated this, they're eager to have their work corrected, their work has been quicker, more accurate, and they don't grumble as much about correcting. Who knew? (Although my 12 y.o., who does still like the grading, seems to think it's half silly, a little kid thing like getting stickers that say "Good Job!")

 

Cat

[Halcyon]

Generally immediately afterwards and have him do another, similar problem once I have explained where he went wrong. If it's really tough, I will make a note to revisit it in a week and make sure he still understands what to do.

[MinivanMom]

It depends on the age of the child.

 

For dd5, I am sitting right next to her. If she makes a mistake, then I point it out immediately.

 

For ds7 and dd9, they work independently and then bring the work to me to correct. If there are any mistakes then they have to fix them before moving on to their next subject. If the mistakes are due simply to sloppiness then I will send them back to redo the mistakes without telling them what the mistake is. It is their responsibility to figure out whether they set up the problem wrong or calculated it wrong or where the mistake is. If there are mistakes that seem to indicate a lack of conceptual understanding, then I will explain the incorrect problems and work through the problems with them. This seems to happen most often with the extra-challenging problems in CWP. In that situation, I make a mental note to continue working on the concept the next day rather than moving on to the next concept.

 

I love the pp's idea of saying, "There are two mistakes on this page," and then letting your child find the mistakes herself. What a great way to teach your child to look back over their own work carefully. I always do that with their writing (making them edit their own work), but it never occurred to me that I could do it with math. We are definitely going to have a new approach on Monday morning.

[Dana]

I love the pp's idea of saying, "There are two mistakes on this page," and then letting your child find the mistakes herself. What a great way to teach your child to look back over their own work carefully. I always do that with their writing (making them edit their own work), but it never occurred to me that I could do it with math. We are definitely going to have a new approach on Monday morning.

 

My son says he has sympathy for your kids :)

[claluck]

I struggle with consistency here as well. I have recently gotten better at having them bring their papers to me right away. Right now I am also working side by side through math with my DS11. He grumbles and hates math (he is good at it but thinks he is bad). So now we are working together he sits next to me, we set a timer and I have him read the lesson, then I have him work through a few problems. If he gets the concept we move on to the the next section and I assign a few more. I NEVER make him do all the work on the page so there is always extra problems to go over if he doesn't understand a concept. If he gets the problems wrong or stares at the page in confusion then I teach it to him again and have him practice more than normal. If the mistakes are sloppy miscalculations not really concept then I circle the problem and have him fix it.

 

I agree whole heartedly with them always showing work. As my kids are getting older they want to not show as much of their work but it is impossible to tell where they went wrong if they don't. I also feel like showing your work is an important part of higher math and being in 5th/6th grade math they are getting veyr close to pre-algebra... might as well teach the concept early than fight over it with them later.

 

It is hard to be consistent but I have learned the hard way it is important to. The two mistakes on the page thing YIKES. I would have to totally gear myself up for the fit that would follow that. I would honestly have to be in a good (ie patient) mood to hand that sentence out cause the reaction would be stomping, complaining and alot of but, but, but's. lol It would certainly teach them to be more careful though

 

Christina

[mom31257]

I generally check the first few problems to correct errors right away. I allow them to finish the rest of the lesson on their own. I check it sometime that day, and have them correct errors that day. I only look for similar problems if the mistakes weren't careless and they need reteaching of the lesson.

[Holly]

They bring me their pages as soon as they finish. I check it there and we work the problem out together right away. If they missed a bunch of similar problems, we'd probably spend another day on the topic...usually they make careless mistakes. If it's a careless mistake, we don't work out the problem together...I just ask them to take another look at it and they give me the correct answer.

 

I may have them check their own work as they get older, but I wouldn't trust them to do a thorough job at their ages (10 and under).

[lllll]

..

[Forget-Me-Not]

Right after they do it. Otherwise I just wouldn't get to it. I'm available for questions and help, but I generally encourage them to work independently (after getting them started with the concept). Then I correct and we sit down together and go over any errors. I'll sometimes have my oldest (almost 10) look over a problem and figure out himself what he did wrong (usually a calculation error somewhere, not a gross misunderstanding of a concept).

[Nakia]

For my oldest, very mathy daughter, I make her redo them immediately. She tends to makes errors from carelessness. She almost never makes errors due to not understanding the material. She generally only does the odd problems, so that leaves all the even ones that she can do if she truly doesn't understand the material.

 

For my middle, not mathy daughter (actually has a math LD), I usually sit with her while she works. She's been doing TT for a while now and is doing very well, mostly independently. She's also working through some Math Mammoth, which she needs more help with.

 

For my 1st grader, I, of course, sit with her and oversee her math.

[SFM]

Usually I am right there with him to correct errors that are made right away, however, if I step away we correct and re-work any mistakes right away.

[kdownie]

I correct on the same day and take notice of the mistakes. If it seems that DD has mastered the concept but just made a small mistake, I let it go. I don't have her correct it. She gets discouraged if I correct every little thing. My main goal is that she gets the concept.

 

If she has made several mistakes in the same area, showing me she hasn't grasped the concept, then we re-work them together that same day.

[mumto2]

If I am unable to correct work right away I wait until the morning of the next school day. I correct over my coffee and have a clear picture of where each child is at. This is my policy for all school work not just math. We do fix missed problems unless it was an obvious "silly" mistake.

[momto2Cs]

Do you correct it the same day and have the child rework wrong problems?

 

 

This. We do one math lesson per day per kid. I correct, and then they correct, all in the same day. Just easier for me/us that way.