We are in the final days of our countdown to Summer Break. My students are excited; My children are excited; I am excited. My excitement is tempered, however, with worry about what will happen when my students are not practicing facts, choosing which problem solving strategy is best, reviewing skills, or discussing fluency strategies with their peers.
Research shows that most students lose two months of grade equivalency in math computation over the summer. Students from lower income households lose even more ground. I celebrated with my students this spring as they met and exceeded their goals in math. Sadly, most of them will be slightly below those goals when they return to school in August.
Parents have many options in preventing summer lag in math. Here are a few:
1. Sign up for a Moby Max parent account. It's free and fairly simple to set up. Your child can take a placement test that will assess which math skills they need to start practicing. Moby Max is more than just math --- there are reading, language, vocabulary, and writing modules. Go to www.mobymax.com to get started.
2. Utilize thousands of fun math games on the internet. My classroom website https://mrsbrownsmath.shutterfly.com has links to several. Use your favorite search engine to find more. Your children can have fun practicing facts or reviewing skills they learned during the school year.
3. Play games with them. Card games (UNO, Crazy Eight, Rummy, Spades, Hearts) help them practice comparing and ordering and develops logical thinking. Dice games like Yahtzee and Farkle teach number recognition and addition.
4. Talk about math in the world around you. Work together to estimate the grocery bill as you add items to the cart. Clip coupons and read advertising flyers together to comparison shop. Talk about fractions in the kitchen. Double or halve a recipe together. Estimate your gas mileage when you fill up the tank. Measure a room in your home to figure out the area of the floor or the walls. Give them an analog watch and ask them to tell you the time. Empty the coins in your pocket and have them count them. Have them estimate the amount of change you are owed before the sales clerk give it to you.
5. If you have access to a device with apps, find math apps. There are many inexpensive or free math apps that my students BEG to play! Splash Math has apps for each grade level. IDEV apps are inexpensive and look plain, but they are a super way to practice math operations using strategies that will help them understand why they are doing what they do. I do not believe students should memorize the steps of an algorithm until they know why it works. IDEV apps will get them there.
6. Consider finding a tutor to help your student. I work with individuals and small groups. So do other teachers I know, and teachers in your area. Ask around.
Research shows that most students lose two months of grade equivalency in math computation over the summer. Students from lower income households lose even more ground. I celebrated with my students this spring as they met and exceeded their goals in math. Sadly, most of them will be slightly below those goals when they return to school in August.
Parents have many options in preventing summer lag in math. Here are a few:
1. Sign up for a Moby Max parent account. It's free and fairly simple to set up. Your child can take a placement test that will assess which math skills they need to start practicing. Moby Max is more than just math --- there are reading, language, vocabulary, and writing modules. Go to www.mobymax.com to get started.
2. Utilize thousands of fun math games on the internet. My classroom website https://mrsbrownsmath.shutterfly.com has links to several. Use your favorite search engine to find more. Your children can have fun practicing facts or reviewing skills they learned during the school year.
3. Play games with them. Card games (UNO, Crazy Eight, Rummy, Spades, Hearts) help them practice comparing and ordering and develops logical thinking. Dice games like Yahtzee and Farkle teach number recognition and addition.
4. Talk about math in the world around you. Work together to estimate the grocery bill as you add items to the cart. Clip coupons and read advertising flyers together to comparison shop. Talk about fractions in the kitchen. Double or halve a recipe together. Estimate your gas mileage when you fill up the tank. Measure a room in your home to figure out the area of the floor or the walls. Give them an analog watch and ask them to tell you the time. Empty the coins in your pocket and have them count them. Have them estimate the amount of change you are owed before the sales clerk give it to you.
5. If you have access to a device with apps, find math apps. There are many inexpensive or free math apps that my students BEG to play! Splash Math has apps for each grade level. IDEV apps are inexpensive and look plain, but they are a super way to practice math operations using strategies that will help them understand why they are doing what they do. I do not believe students should memorize the steps of an algorithm until they know why it works. IDEV apps will get them there.
6. Consider finding a tutor to help your student. I work with individuals and small groups. So do other teachers I know, and teachers in your area. Ask around.