Marvelous Math with Mrs. Rose

Parents~Are you looking for a novel, exciting way for your children to practice Math facts and skills?

Why not use technology, a natural motivator for many students?  Another benefit is that you can zero in on grade-level skills and concepts, which are appropriate for your child.  Try visiting IXL Math, one of the web’s #1 Math Practice Site by clicking here.

You can choose the grade-level of your child, from Pre-K to Sixth-Grade.  There are unlimited Math questions in more than 1,000 topics, which provide immediate feedback to the user.  It’s free for limited use and can help students to improve skills and boost confidence in Math.  You can always extend your student’s thinking by trying the next grade level after mastering the current grade level.

If you try this with your child, please leave me a comment below to let me know how you both liked it!

Parents often ask  how they can help their children practice basic Math facts, from kindergarten through fourth grade.  Here’s a simple, enjoyable game that our students have really enjoyed for working on the concepts of addition and subtraction.  It’s called “Hide the Blocks” . . . or Jellybeans . . . or Cheerios. . . or Raisins. . . or whatever you might like to use at home!

Hide the Blocks!

First-graders might start working with sums of 5.  So, you would start with a total of 5 blocks, and working in pairs, one partner would hide some of the blocks under the cup (or in the cup, or behind his/her back).  By looking at the number of blocks on the table, the other partner needs to say how many blocks are hidden, as quickly as possible.  Then the partner shows the number hidden, to see if the guesser was correct.

Most students like the fast pace of this game, as they take turns hiding blocks from each other.  Once a child has the concept of all the addends that make five, it’s time to move onto larger numbers.  This is a great game for practicing facts of 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.  Facts of ten are so important to retrieve quickly, as we then apply that concept to multiples of ten.  Older students will want to use larger numbers, or number cards to represent that two addends.

Students may choose to add on to make a sum of ten, for instance, or to count back, which helps make the connection between the inverse operations of addition and subtraction.  When students have a chance to manipulate numbers in hands-on activities such as this, they are better prepared for pencil and paper tasks like timed Fact Fluency Assessments.

On another note, our students now have 1-1/2 minutes (90 seconds) to complete Fact Fluency Assessments of 30 Math Facts (in addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, as appropriate for each grade level), as current research shows that students may need up to 3 seconds to retrieve a Math fact.

For more ideas on how to help your child become more fluent and confident in Math facts of all kinds, click on the  Fact Fluency Strategies page on the banner of this website.

What strategies, games, and websites does your child enjoy most?

Dear Parents, Students, and Teachers,

We’re always looking for more interactive, fun, and efficient ways to build FACT FLUENCY in our students–whether it’s addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division.  Please try out this website that I’ve recently discovered (recommended by a colleague—thank you Mrs. Amber Bishop!), which is incredible.  Not only does it give students a motivating way to learn math facts and develop fluency, it tracks their learning, offering them what’s most developmentally appropriate to work on next!

Please give it a try and let me know what you think!

Click on:

www.brainormous.com

Have fun!

Mrs. Rose

Exciting  new research shows that girls’ interest in Math and Science is boosted significantly by parents and teachers who help to instill self-confidence in their female learners.  A team of researchers at the University of Wisconsis-Milwaukee (UWM) found that this self-confidence is more important for young girls learning Math and Science than initial interest, according to Science Daily.

“The relationship between confidence and interest is close,” says UWM Distinguished Professor Nadya Fouad.  “If they feel they can do it, it feeds their interest.”

Important supports to nurture our young girls’ interest and success in Math and Science include:

• Parent support and expectations
• Engaging teachers and positive experiences with them

To read the complete article, click here.

To “our” girls—-YOU GO, GIRLS!  WE’RE SO PROUD OF YOU!!!