Helping your Child Learn Math

Appendix

Return to the main Contents Page

Source

Contents

Forums

Related Articles

1. Parents and the Schools
2. What Should I Expect from a Math Program?
3. What We Can Do To Help Our Children Learn?
4. Resources

Here are a few ideas that might help you support a positive math environment in your child's school:

1. Visit the school and see if the children:
   
   
   • Are actively engaged in math;
     
     
   • Are talking about mathematics;
     
     
   • Are working together to solve math problems;
     
     
   • Have their math work on display;
     
     
   • Use manipulatives (objects that children can touch and move) in the classroom.
     
     
2. Explore the math program with your child's teacher, curriculum coordinator, or principal. Here are some questions you might ask:
   
   
   • Are there manipulatives in the classroom?
     
     
   • Are you familiar with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards (see next page)?
     
     
   • How are the standards being used in this school?
     
     
   • What can I do to help foster a strong math program where children can explore math concepts before giving the right answer?
     
     
3. If you would like to help out, here are some suggestions for parent groups:
   
   
   • Make games for teachers;
     
     
   • Help seek out sponsors who believe in a strong math program for the school and who might provide materials and resources;
     
     
   • Support math classes for families at your school.
     
     
4. Keep a positive attitude even if you don't like what you see. Work to improve the math curriculum by doing some of the things mentioned throughout this book.
   
   
5. Share this book with your child's teacher.
   
   

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has recently endorsed standards by which math should be taught in the elementary and middle grade years. The powerful nature of these standards is that they not only have the endorsement of the academic community, but they are also heavily endorsed by corporations. These endorsements, together with the technological advances of our society and the lack of math confidence in our work force, have combined to produce tremendous support for the standards.

These standards make some assumptions about the way math should be taught and what parents might see when visiting the classroom. Here are some examples:

1. Children will be engaged in discovering mathematics, not just doing many problems in a book.
   
   
2. Children will have the opportunity to explore, investigate, estimate, question, predict, and test their ideas about math.
   
   
3. Children will explore and develop understanding for math concepts using materials they can touch and feel, either natural or manufactured.
   
   
4. The teacher will guide the students' learning, not dictate how it must be done.
   
   
5. Children will have many opportunities to look at math in terms of daily life and to see the connections among math topics such as between geometry and numbers.
   
   
6. Children will be actively involved in using technology (calculators and computers) to solve math problems.
   
   

The complete list of standards is available from NCTM, 1906 Association Drive, Reston, Virginia 22091-1593 (1-800-235-7566).

• Listen to them and pay attention to their problems.
  
  
• Read with them.
  
  
• Tell family stories.
  
  
• Limit their television watching.
  
  
• Have books and other reading materials in the house.
  
  
• Look up words in the dictionary with them.
  
  
• Encourage them to use an encyclopedia.
  
  
• Share favorite poems and songs with them.
  
  
• Take them to the library--get them their own library cards.
  
  
• Take them to museums and historical sites, when possible.
  
  
• Discuss the daily news with them.
  
  
• Go exploring with them and learn about plants, animals, and local geography.
  
  
• Find a quiet place for them to study.
  
  
• Review their homework.
  
  
• Meet with their teachers.
  
  
• Do you have other ideas?
  
  

1. Math for parents:
   
   

   Burns, Marilyn. Math for Smarty Pants. Little, Brown and Company.

   Burns, Marilyn. The I Hate Mathematics Book. Little, Brown and Company.

   Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Reston, Virginia

   Help Your Child Learn Number Skills. Usborne Parents' Guides, EDC Publishing, 10302 East 55th Place, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74146.

   The Learning With Series. Cuisenaire Company, P.O. Box 5026, White Plains, New York 106025026, 1-800-237-3142.

   Parker, Tom, (1984). In One Day. Houghton Mifflin Company.

   Reys, Barbara. Elementary School Mathematics: What Parents Should Know about Estimation. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Reston, Virginia. 10 for $7.50.

   Reys, Barbara. Elementary School Mathematics: What Parents Should Know About Problem Solving. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Reston, Virginia. 10 for $7.50.

   Room, Adrian. The Guiness Book of Numbers. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 387 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10016-8810.

   Stenmark, Virginia Thompson and Ruth Cossey. Family Math. Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley California 94720.

   Thomas, David A., (1988). The Math-Computer Connection. Franklin Watts.

   Thomas, David A., (1988). Math Projects for Young Scientists. Franklin Watts.

   Math Matters. National PTA and Exxon Foundation. Video tape and pamphlet useful for parent meetings.

   The following pamphlets are available from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1906 Association Drive, Reston, Virginia 22091-1593 (1-800-235-7566). All are priced 20 for $5, 100 for $15.

   "Family Math Awareness Activities"

   "Help Your Child Learn Math"

   "Using Calculators to Improve Your Child's Math Skills"

2. Books for children:
   
   

   Almost every book you read with your child will offer the opportunity to talk about math, because math is everywhere. Some books lend themselves more to in-depth and specific math discussion. Only a fraction of these books could be listed here.

   Anno, Mitsumasa. Anno's Counting Book. Thomas Y. Crowell.

   Anno, Mitsumasa. Anno's Counting House. Philomel Books.

   Anno, Mitsumasa. Anno's Hat Trick. Philomel Books.

   Anno, Mitsumasa. Anno's Math Games. Philomel Books.

   Anno, Mitsumasa. Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar. Philomel Books.

   Carle, Eric. The Grouchy Ladybug. Philomel Books.

   Carle, Eric. 1,2,3 to the Zoo. Philomel Books.

   Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Philomel Books.

   Carter, David. How Many Bugs in a Box? Simon and Schuster.

   Cobb, Vicki and Kathy Darling. Bet You Can. Avon.

   Cobb, Vicki and Kathy Darling. Bet You Can't. Avon.

   Conran, Sebastian. My First 123 Book. Aladdin Books.

   Daly, Eileen. 1 Is Red. Western.

   Dee, Ruby. Two Ways to Count to Ten. Holt.

   Demi. Demi's Count the Animals 123. Grosset and Dunlap.

   Feelings, Muriel. Moja Means One: Swahili Counting Book. Dial.

   Grayson, Marion. Let's Count. Robert B. Luce, Inc.

   Grayson, Marion. Count Out. Robert B. Luce, Inc.

   Hoban, Tana. Circles, Triangles, and Squares. MacMillan Publishing Company, Inc.

   Hoban, Tana. Count and See. Macmillan Publishing Company, Inc.

   Hoban, Tana. Is It Rough, Is It Smooth, Is It Bumpy? Macmillan Publishing Company, Inc.

   Hudson, Cheryl. Afro-Bets 123 Book. Just Us Productions.

   Hutchins, Pat. The Doorbell Rang. Greenwillow Books.

   Hutchins, Pat. One Hunter. Greenwillow Books.

   Jones, Carol. This Old Man. Houghton Mifflin Company.

   Keats, Ezra Jack. Over in the Meadow. Scholastic. Kitchen, Bert. Animal Numbers. Dial.

   Kredenser, Gaff. One Dancing Drum. Phillips.

   Lionni, Leo. Numbers To Talk About. Pantheon Books.

   Marley, Deborah. Animals One to Ten. Raintree.

   McMillan, Bruce. Counting Wildflowers. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, Inc.

   McMillan, Bruce. One, Two, One Pair. Scholastic. Nolan, Dennis. Monster Bubbles. Prentice Hall.

   Pluckrose, Henry. Know about Counting. Franklin Watts.

   Pomerantz, Charlotte. The Half-Birthday Party. Clarion Books.

   Ross, H.L. Not Counting Monsters. Platt and Munk.

   Schwartz, David M. How Much Is a Million? Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, Inc.

   Schwartz, David M. If You Made a Million. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, Inc.

   Tafuri, Nancy. Who's Counting? William Morrow & Co.

   Testa, Fulvio. If You Take a Pencil. Dial.

   Viorst, Judith. Alexander Who Used To Be Rich Last Sunday. Atheneum.

   Vogel, Ilse-Margret. 1 Is No Fun, But 20 Is Plenty.t Atheneum.

   Ziefert, Harriet. A Dozen Dizzy Dogs. Random House.

3. Magazines and periodicals:
   
   

   Dynamath. Scholastic. Available from the school division. Filled with many different activities that involve all strands of math. Children in grade 5 particularly like this. Nine publications are sent each school year. $5.00 for the subscription.

   Games Magazine, P.O. Box 10147, Des Moines, Iowa 50347. The adult version of Games Junior (see below). Older children may prefer this to Games Junior.

   Games Junior, P.O. Box 10147, Des Moines, Iowa 50347. A challenging but fun magazine of all different kinds of games that give children hours of "brain workouts." Appropriate for ages 7 and up.

   Math Power. Scholastic. Available from the school division. Exciting and inviting, this magazine is filled with many activities that involve all types of math. Good for grades 3 and 4. Nine publications are sent each school year for $5.00.

   Puzzlemania. Highlights, P.O. Box 18201, Columbus, Ohio 43218-0201. Includes puzzles involving words, logical thinking, hidden pictures, spatial reasoning, etc. The cost is about $7.50 per month.

   Zillions. Consumer Reports, P.O. Box 54861, Boulder, Colorado 80322. Children's version of Consumer Reports. Shows math in the real world and offers children the opportunity to see how gathering data and information can lead to good decision-making. The cost is approximately $2.75 per issue.