Careless math errors

[JMGrunw]

Hi. My daughter is in 5th grade. She generally does well in math, but her performance is inconsistent.  I believe that her main issues are focus and engagement, as well as testing anxiety.  She does not have trouble grasping skills when they are taught to her, but she isn't the sort who figures out new concepts (or extrapolates easily) on her own.  She is also apt to forget skills without periodic review. We've found that a one-minute daily warm-up helps her a lot with both confidence and recall.  However, careless errors have always been the most difficult problem to address.  

 

She used to make frequent arithmetic errors and would often miscopy a problem or answer, despite doing all of the math correctly. Now her issue is primarily with word problems.  Rather than carefully reading what the problem asks for, she will guess what she THINKS the problem is likely to ask for -- and then solve that problem instead.  We've found that asking her to underline key words usually helps, but sometimes she forgets to do this.  She "checks" her work, but she must be mentally checked out when doing so.  We've also noticed that she tends to consistently miss the last or second-to-last problem on tests.  [These are no harder than the others generally.] In fact, I think she actually makes more errors on very easy problems than on difficult ones.  

 

Can anyone suggest ways to improve her resolve to read word problems carefully?  I can't tell you how tired I am of hearing, "I THOUGHT it said..."   She is a very good reader, so it is frustrating that her "math" issues are chiefly rooted in her unwillingness to carefully attend to the whole question.

 

TIA for any help!

 

[Kuovonne]

What math program are you using and what is the source for word problems?

 

I find that my DD does best with word problems that are set a level lower than

the math concepts that she is currently learning. She also can handle only

a few word problems per day.

 

I tell my DD to read word problems 3 times.

The first time you read it to get an overall understanding of the problem.

The second time you read it to get the particlar numbers.

Only then do you put pencil to paper and solve the problem.

If you have trouble, draw a diagram.

Finally, read it a third time and make sure you answered the question asked.

 

I make DD fix every word problem that she misses.

I give hints to what went wrong. For example, I might tell her what

sentence in the word problem to re-read.

[JMGrunw]

Thanks for your suggestions, Kuovonne!  DD goes to public school, and they are using Houghton Mifflin's Go Math.  We've tried a variety of other supplemental materials at home.  I will definitely try asking her to read each question three times.  

 

She does sometimes struggle with word problems that are complex, but she is at least as apt to make silly mistakes with ones that are very easy for her.  I definitely think it's more about focus than understanding or ability.    

[Tsuga]

Hi. My daughter is in 5th grade. She generally does well in math, but her performance is inconsistent.  I believe that her main issues are focus and engagement, as well as testing anxiety.  She does not have trouble grasping skills when they are taught to her, but she isn't the sort who figures out new concepts (or extrapolates easily) on her own.  She is also apt to forget skills without periodic review. We've found that a one-minute daily warm-up helps her a lot with both confidence and recall.  However, careless errors have always been the most difficult problem to address.  

 

She used to make frequent arithmetic errors and would often miscopy a problem or answer, despite doing all of the math correctly. Now her issue is primarily with word problems.  Rather than carefully reading what the problem asks for, she will guess what she THINKS the problem is likely to ask for -- and then solve that problem instead.  We've found that asking her to underline key words usually helps, but sometimes she forgets to do this.  She "checks" her work, but she must be mentally checked out when doing so.  We've also noticed that she tends to consistently miss the last or second-to-last problem on tests.  [These are no harder than the others generally.] In fact, I think she actually makes more errors on very easy problems than on difficult ones.  

 

Can anyone suggest ways to improve her resolve to read word problems carefully?  I can't tell you how tired I am of hearing, "I THOUGHT it said..."   She is a very good reader, so it is frustrating that her "math" issues are chiefly rooted in her unwillingness to carefully attend to the whole question.

 

TIA for any help!

 

This is a very common issue for moderately smart kids for whom math is their only really challenging, accuracy-based subject that requires critical thinking and 100% precise answers. They get by on instinct in writing, ease of social studies, and room for interpretation in art. If you pushed her to the limits in art, history (requiring more detail), spelling, science, etc. like really required the same amount of detail and exactness in multi-step problems, she would probably do the exact same things for those subjects as well. Anyway, that's what I've found. Like if I really critically examine anything my daughter does, though she gets a check mark at school, there are little errors in detail throughout.

 

I don't know how to solve this--I'm lazy myself--but I do think looking at it as a global problem and not a math problem can be useful.

 

As a kid, Saxon math (I know, so many people here despise it, but oh well) helped me finally understand what it meant to do math step by step. I still make careless errors but I was MUCH better prepared for college math, I believe. The spiral is irritating but useful.

 

In addition, some other tips:

 

--Have her make a list of things she will do for each problem.

--List should include: read the problem twice, underline the question, write out the answer box WITH UNITS

--Number her steps in little circled numbers

--Draw lines from the values in the text to the values she uses in her menu of values (like diagramming the math problem, as you'd diagram a sentence, here is the addend, here is the product, here is the exponent, etc.).

[JMGrunw]

You have nailed her, Tsuga!  She is getting a lot more detail-oriented as she gets older, but I think residual anxiety is getting in her way in math.  (We also need to address sleep issues, which I think will improve her focus)  I will take a look at Saxon Math.  I do think some sustained practice might be to her benefit, but I don't really know where to begin looking for resources.  I appreciate the tip. 

 

This is a very common issue for moderately smart kids for whom math is their only really challenging, accuracy-based subject that requires critical thinking and 100% precise answers. They get by on instinct in writing, ease of social studies, and room for interpretation in art. If you pushed her to the limits in art, history (requiring more detail), spelling, science, etc. like really required the same amount of detail and exactness in multi-step problems, she would probably do the exact same things for those subjects as well. Anyway, that's what I've found. Like if I really critically examine anything my daughter does, though she gets a check mark at school, there are little errors in detail throughout.

 

I don't know how to solve this--I'm lazy myself--but I do think looking at it as a global problem and not a math problem can be useful.

 

As a kid, Saxon math (I know, so many people here despise it, but oh well) helped me finally understand what it meant to do math step by step. I still make careless errors but I was MUCH better prepared for college math, I believe. The spiral is irritating but useful.

 

In addition, some other tips:

 

--Have her make a list of things she will do for each problem.

--List should include: read the problem twice, underline the question, write out the answer box WITH UNITS

--Number her steps in little circled numbers

--Draw lines from the values in the text to the values she uses in her menu of values (like diagramming the math problem, as you'd diagram a sentence, here is the addend, here is the product, here is the exponent, etc.).

 

[bolt.]

For word problems:

 

Have her write the "answer sentence" with a blank (for the answer number) before she begins any calculations.

 

Run her through a ton of word problems, but assign her *not* to do the math, but simply identify what the "answer sentence" should be. Teach "figure out what your answer sentence should be" as a completely different skill from "doing math".

 

For careless errors, change your 'marking' to add an incentive:

 

- Mark answers that are correct.

- Write the correct answer beside answers that are actually wrong. (Or mark them wrong: whatever you usually do.)

- Circle the "silly spot" where a careless error has occurred. Mark it neither right nor wrong, just a circle.

 

Give a total of (x) correct 😀 *and* (y) "s" -- she will see at a glance that fixing her "silly spots" would have gotten her a *much* better mark. She may ask if she can try again.

[OneStepAtATime]

Good suggestions upthread.  I realize this is hugely frustrating for you and for her.  FWIW, I struggled in school to remember all the steps and I made "careless" "silly" errors, too.  It helped not one iota for people to tell me they were careless or silly.  It hurt.  It made me feel defective.  I was not deliberately skipping over these things.  I was trying.  Really hard.  There was just so much to keep in my head it was hard to remember all of it at once and in the right order.  Feeling the other person's frustration at my mistakes also did not help, it made me more stressed which increased my errors.  

 

What I needed and did not get until I was teaching my own kids was a very targeted, clearly laid out system for what to check and what order to do things, along with consistent long term review of that system.  Not just some verbal reminders once in a while, but a clearly laid out, detail oriented check list with guidance and support while the student learns how to use it.  Work with only one or two word problems at a time so the process itself is the focus, not an overwhelming volume of math problems.  Get her into a system of doing the same types of checks in the same order each time.  That won't be easy, especially since she is in school, but if you can create a check list of things to do, like the awesome suggestion up thread regarding reading a problem three times (and the purpose of each reading), and then encourage and support her in getting used to using that checklist each and every time so the process internalizes, it might help. 

 

I don't know if you are looking for anything to use on the side but CLE has been a HUGE help with DD for these exact same issues.  The CLE reference chart has helped as well.  Placement test would be a must, though.  

 

Also, have you ever had her eyes checked through a COVD?  She might have some tracking errors or convergence errors.  DS has perfect eyesight, from a visual acuity standpoint.  He also has heterophoria but NONE of his normal eye exams caught it.  One eye tracks slightly out of alignment when his eyes move.  That has affected certain aspects of academics, including math.  Anyway, just something you might want to check into.  A Developmental Optometrist can do a standard eye exam and screen for development eye issues at the same time.  Shouldn't cost much at all in the way of an extra charge.  If they find something then you can consider whether to pay for a more detailed eye exam.

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

[Arcadia]

I'll focus on sleep first if possible. Lack of sleep can easily cause careless mistakes.

 

Math Minutes was useful as a fun warm up for my kids. Their public school teacher sent those home as optional homework when they were in public school. You can just google Math Minutes 5th grade for samples.

[clementine]

For awhile I had my dd do only the even problems in math - if her percentage was below a certain amount she would have to go back and do the odds as well.  THAT was great incentive to be accurate the first time around.  I think I only had to do that in 6th grade, but it worked!!  

[JMGrunw]

Clementine, that is totally what I will do for my daughter.  I know that less work will be an incentive that works for her. :)  And Arcadia, I agree that sleep is a big factor.

 

OneStepAtATime, I typed a long response to your helpful response, but it seems to have vanished.  In short, I also wondered about eye issues.  When DD was in first grade she used to miscopy nearly everything from the blackboard.  The developmental optometrist said that she had some minor tracking problems, but nothing to be very concerned about.  Indeed, her ability to copy accurately has improved greatly as she's gotten older.  She also started wearing glasses in second grade for nearsightedness.

 

At any rate, the frustration we both feel about this issue is definitely contributing to the problem.  She spends so much mental energy panicking that she has very little left for paying attention to what she's doing.  She's a very good reader, so I just don't understand why she would skip reading a whole sentence of a three-sentence problem --  and then skip it again when she's "checking" her work.  (She definitely understands how to solve the problem when she actually makes herself read every word.)  A good checklist might be a very useful tool.

[OneStepAtATime]

Hugs and good luck.

[wintermom]

One thing that really helped my dd with confidence and focus to eliminate silly mistakes was we did "math challenges." She would pick 5 - 10 questions from her assignment and we'd both do them and see who got the most correct. It was a HUGE eye-opener for me, as I quickly discovered how easy it is to make tiny errors. With the motivation of beating mommy, dd's confidence soared. She also realized how much she actually knew, and that the problems were relatively easy to fix.

 

I have made up a little sheet entitled "Check your Work" that lists the most common mistakes made in our family math. It includes:

 

- did you copy down the question correctly?

- did you check the pos and neg signs are correct on each line?

- did you follow the correct order of operations?

- did you answer the actual question in the word problem?

- did you calculate the exponents correctly?

 

Now dd is making very few errors in her work, and has changed from hating math to actually enjoying it. 

 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2016 by wintermom

[JMGrunw]

Wintermom, that is awesome!  I have told my DD that I used to make a lot of "silly" mistakes in math, too.  I think this will work really well for her.  You guys are brilliant!

[wintermom]

Wintermom, that is awesome!  I have told my DD that I used to make a lot of "silly" mistakes in math, too.  I think this will work really well for her.  You guys are brilliant!

 

The bonus for me doing the math questions along with dd (and my boys, too) is that it keeps me humble and keeps challenging my aging brain. ;)  It is SO much easier to see mistakes when you have the answer key in front of you, than if you are working on the problems alongside your dc.