To Mom and Dad
Why Math?
Most want their children to use and enjoy math. Young
children learn math enthusiastically, counting games can
provide endless hours of fun. Math is more than counting
-- a child is playing with math when they arrange blocks in
patterns. Perhaps our challenge is to nurture that
excitement. Click
HERE to continue.
What Skills and When?
A good question many ask is, "What skills should
children be learning and when should they learn them?"
Reasonable people can disagree to the "best answer" here, but
this is clearly a question that shows people care.
Children develop differently, no one can "prove" that "one size
fits all." (Note: We include links to the
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards and
expectations and
Wisconsin 's Model Academic Standards for Mathematics).
Click HERE to
continue.
Traditional Approach to Teaching Math in Elementary Schools.
Many parents want to help their children with math, but when
they look at their children's textbook, they see "new math."
The textbooks that are used in school change, the fundamentals
of math do not. Clearly, calculators have forced math
instruction to change -- the use of calculators in school is
still "controversial" among many that teach math. Studies
also show that high school teachers and college math professors
disagree on what skills are fundamental. Math instruction
changes. Click
HERE to continue.
Giving Your Children a
"Head Start" in Math. We all want our
children to do well in school. Do you want to give your
child a "head start" in math? There are many ways you can
start. One does not need to be an "expert," after all,
math is all around us. Think about the things you do
regularly that involve math. When shopping, writing a
check and balancing a checkbook, measuring distance, telling
time, cooking or baking, play games, or just watching sports on
TV, you are using math. Click
HERE to continue.
You Can Teach Your
Child Math! Do you feel ready to teach your child
math? Don't worry, we are not talking about finite math,
calculus, or even algebra. We are talking about fundamental
concepts that prepare your child for success. Most schools have
qualified teachers and follow carefully created math instruction
that moves a child towards mastery of higher level math.
Click HERE to
continue.
Here are some suggestions about important math topics that
you can help introduce your child to:
Helping With Homework.
Most parents want to help their children do well in school.
For some, finding the time is the challenge. Others are
not confident or comfortable with certain subject areas.
Helping with homework is a great way to spend some "quality
time" with a child and develop a meaningful dialog. Click
HERE to
continue.
Math Raps and Rhymes
Kids love to recite poems, sing, clap their hands, and do
"finger plays." Here are some fun "rhymes
and raps" to share with children -- all are based on math
and counting skills. Click
HERE to continue.
Great Math Books
Here are some books about math for parents,
educators and children. We present books for
parents,
picture books,
young readers (primary and middle school students), and
young adults
(middle and high school students).
Click HERE to
continue.
Algebra Connections
Created
by to support a
Beginning
Algebra class, Algebra Connections is a "newsletter"
that presents fundamental concepts of algebra and suggests
links to review skills. The ideas is to give students
organized notes and resources to take with them when the took
Intermediate Algebra.
The Algebra Connections posted here are in downloadable,
printable, pdf format (created in an older version of Acrobat that did
not supporting hyperlinks) and gif screen captures for online viewing
(again, not supporting hyperlinks). You will need
Acrobat Reader to view them.
Please click
HERE for direct links to
the many algebra Web resources
that are recommended in each issue of
Algebra Connections. To see all
of the "newsletters" in sequence, click
HERE.
Skill Review Certificates are "achievement awards"
that review basic procedures that are fundamental to success
in algebra. They are posted here as colorful .pdf files
-- fully downloadable and printable. Please share them
with anyone you know that is studying algebra. To see a
listing of the complete set, click
HERE.
Links for Parents
Today, there are so many resources available to
help parents help their children. Libraries will have a
variety of information in different formats. Schools
usually will connect parents with appropriate resources.
The Web is full of great sites too. This
collection of links covers a
wide variety of topics.
Because most Web resources contain information
and links about many different helpful ideas, we have organized
our links to encourage "browsing" and presented them in
alphabetical order. Please "click through" to the sites
that sound helpful, that will give you a better idea of the full
depth of resources a given Web page contains. Click
HERE to
continue.
Links for Kids
Here are some suggestions for online games and
activity that primary students (pre-k through 5th grade) will
enjoy Organizing links for kids is a challenge --
different children have different needs, abilities, and
interests. Some online sites review and reinforce
combinations of skills. We have organized these popular,
free, online games by suggesting grade levels of children that
might enjoy them. Click
HERE to
continue.
To classifying them by grade level, we used
traditional Remember, kids will find games fun based on whether
they feel appropriately challenged. The grade suggestions
are merely suggestions and guides to show how schools typically
introduce and reinforce math skills. We have suggestions
for pre-k through
kindergarten, first grade,
second grade,
third grade,
fourth grade, and
fifth grade.
We have also provided some links to
general education sites
with collections of fun online activities for different age
groups and topics.
Links for Teachers
The Internet represents different things to
different people. Teachers can find many different tools
and resources to help them. Some prefer to use online
sites to generate ideas, others are looking for lessons and
activities that are "ready to go." Our
Links for Teachers offer a
wide variety of support and each link contains hyperlinks to
additional resources. To encourage browsing, we have
presented them in alphabetical order. Please "click
through" the links that sound interesting to more fully see what
they have to offer. Click
HERE to
continue.
