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Dear Parent,
A number of parents have asked for more details
than was contained in the end of year report
about how parents can help their child’s learning over the Summer.
I have already posted some suggestions about reading
Suggestions for Children’s Reading Over The Summer
This post relates to Maths.
There will be a third post about using higher order questions
to develop your child’s learning.
Photo Credit: Jimmie via Compfight
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment
have several short videos for parents
about working on maths with your child.
Short Videos from National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA)
They appear to be still compiling resources for 3rd/4th class
For Parents of 3rd/4th Classes – National Council for Curriculum and Assessment
This post relates specifically to
students in 2nd Class going into 3rd.
It is a long post and you will find
the contents will help you
over the next school year.
In many reports I wrote that;
‘3rd+4th Class is the window of opportunity
for learning multiplication+division tables.
They are easier to learn than
the addition/subtraction tables from this year
because of the number patterns apparent in them.
Prioritizing these tables next year will
give your child a very useful life skill.
Tables are gymnastics for the brain.
Knowing them well is confidence building
and allows your child to concentrate on methodology’.
Multiplication is introduced as repeated addition.
Towards the end of 2nd class, we did this in class.
You may find the following websites helpful.
The two introductory videos here are useful;
Teach the Times Tables on Multiplication.com
This is a useful follow up game;
Carl’s Cookie Capers from Multiplication.com
The Balloon Popping Game from the School Hub
with which your child is very familiar will also be helpful.
Other online games that practice multiplication can be found here;
Multiplication Games from ICT Games.com
It may be that your child finds it hard to learn by rote.
So you may find this site useful;
Strategies for Learning Multiplication Facts from Olc.spsd.sk.ca
This game also provides some gymnastics for the brain;
http://members.learningplanet.com/act/count/free.asp
Problem Solving is a skill that all students would benefit from practising.
I suggest an inexpensive purchase Mad 4 Maths – 3rd Class
To start with your child could do a few of these with you
perhaps using the 3-step strategy highlighted below.
Once they master these steps they can continue on, independently.
How can you help your child with problem solving in Maths?
Problem Solving:
The following strategies are useful in relation to problem solving
• Discussing the problem
• Rephrasing to make the meaning clearer
• Using concrete materials where possible
• Using smaller numbers
• Setting out problem on paper using diagrams, drawings etc.
• Estimating
Some teachers use the mnemonic RUDE
to remind the children of problem solving strategies.
So the children are encouraged to
Read,
Underline key words,
Draw,
Estimate (Answer).
This is the simplest approach.
‘Drawing’ the problem can be very effective.
It gives the child time to think and process the information.
Another approach is
We LUV 2 C word stories!
Look,
Underline (the key word),
Visualise(draw),
Calculate and
Check.
In tandem with these approaches you could ask your child:
1. What do I have? (what info is given?)
2. What do I want to have at the end? (What am I being asked to do?)
3. How do I get there? (add/subtract/multiply/divide or a combination)
The additional website may be useful for some.
It teaches a visual strategy for problem solving:
Problem Solving with Thinking Blocks
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I have checked out all these websites,
but please supervise your child online.