Learning Strategies

 

 

Math Strategies:

 

v     Highlight operations (Ex.  5 + 3 = 8)

v     Highlight ‘key’ words or numbers in directions or word problems. (Ex. Round to the nearest tenths place.)

v     Have your child complete each problem two times. This may be challenging for children that work at a slow pace, so emphasize the importance of completing a problem twice on tests or important papers.

v     Have your child check their work by going backwards.

Ex.    45               CHECK:   68

  + 23                             -23

68                                                                            45

v     Have your child use graph paper (1 cm by 1 cm), placing one number in a box.

v     Have your child fold their paper into 4 to 8 boxes so they keep their space organized.

v     Emphasize neat handwriting when solving problems.

v     Make sure your child knows their multiplication and division facts by fourth grade. Special education students may use count-by-charts (multiplication charts) in the classroom as a modification if needed, but regular education students need to know their facts automatically. There are some tricks for learning facts. Once the tricks are learned, there are merely a few facts students need to memorize.

See Multiplication and Division Rules on Ms. Blake’s Website under Parents/Study Skill Strategies.

v     Have your child use logic to solve and understand word problems. Ask them if their answer makes sense. If you go into a store with $20.00 and buy 4 items, your answer should be less than $20.00. Associate ALL numbers with meaning, even if you are just practicing calculations.

EX.

You’re inviting 29 friends to a party. You want everyone to get at least one hamburger. The hamburgers come in packs of six. How many packs do you need to buy?

 

Number Sentence: 29 / 6 = p

NOTE:  Make sure your child understands that the question is asking for the number of packs you need to buy, that’s why we use p in the number sentence. Also, make sure they understand that 29 is the number of people and 6 is the amount of hamburgers per pack. Have your child use manipulatives, such as coins or checkers, to understand that you are splitting up the people, not the hamburgers.

 

Answer: 4 remainder 5

 

What does the remainder represent?  The number of people that will not receive a hamburger.

 

Solution: 5 packs

NOTE: You need to buy 5 packs because in the real world, you would need to make sure everyone gets a hamburger.

v     When studying for tests, make-up similar problems to the ones on the test for your child. Repeat, repeat, repeat until they are at least 90% accurate. A lot of children tell their parents they understand or know how to solve problems, but they may not be automatic. Ask your child’s teacher for extra work to help practice if necessary.

v     Make sure you know what is on the test and study, study, study.