Children dramatically improve accuracy on math homework and math tests when good math habits replace bad ones.
Some mistakes happen due to a lack of understanding, but mistakes in accuracy usually happen because of poor habits. Some people call them “careless,” “silly,” “dumb,” or even “stupid” mistakes, but we don’t use those terms at Mathnasium of Cottage Grove.
How Better Math Habits Will Improve Achievement
Accuracy in math is important because even small mistakes create big challenges.
In school, mistakes in accuracy lead to wrong answers, lowered math grades, and lowered math confidence. Just by replacing these 4 bad habits with better ones, your child will get more answers correct on math tests and homework.
How to Replace Bad Habits with Better Habits
You might think that mistakes in accuracy are the easiest math issue to fix, but changing habits is NOT easy. If you have ever tried to change a habit, like changing your diet, you know how this requires effort, dedication, and support. Changing math habits are almost as difficult as changing eating habits.
If your child is making mistakes in accuracy, see if they have any of these four bad habits. Then support them as they work to replace those habits with better habits. At Mathnasium of Cottage Grove we will do our part in the center to help too!
Bad Habit #1: Not aligning numbers when writing a problem, creating incorrect place value issues. Each position in a multi-digit number represents ad 10x change in value up or down from the one next to it.
The number system uses the position of each numeral to show quantity. 304 is different than 34. So when writing 304 + 8 vertically, the 8 must line up under the 4 (the ones place). Incorrect alignment of the digits might result in getting the answer of 1104 or 384 instead of 312.
Better habit: Write math problems precisely and line numbers up carefully. Graph paper with 1 inch squares helps young children pay more attention to number alignment. Older children may prefer quarter inch squares.
Bad Habit #2 Not writing down steps and failing to label units.
We often see this bad habit with children who have strong mental math skills. Don’t get us wrong- we want our students to have these skills! We just want them to also develop habits that will improve their accuracy. The more complex the math problem, the more important writing down each step becomes and labeling becomes.
Better habit: Write the steps taken to derive the answer and label parts of equations. Imagine a test problem such as:
“There were two drums of gasoline. One drum had 30 gallons and one drum had 45 gallons. 5 tanks needed fuel. How many gallons of gas could each tank have if they shared equally?”
A child with poor habits in labeling and writing steps, might only write “75/5= 15.”
A better way would be to write “30 gallons +45 gallons=75 gallons total. “75 gallons/5 tanks= 15 gallons per tank.”
Taking the time to write steps and label units slows down children’s thinking enough to catch many accuracy errors before they are made. When they do make an error, it is easier to find because they have a record of their thinking. Instead of redoing the whole problem, they can just look at each step to see where they went wrong. Writing the steps and labeling feels tedious to many children, but it will make a huge difference in their accuracy. This habit becomes crucial when they get to algebra and geometry. Math Grades Plummeting in Algebra or Geometry? Why it Happens and How to Fix It
Bad Habit #3 Only reading the problem once.
Math is like a foreign language and it has its own symbols and syntax. Understanding how to “read” a math problem requires a specialized set of literacy skills. Word problems use regular words that children must then “translate” into math words.
For example, in the previous math problem the student had to figure out to first add and then divide. The equation (30+45)/5=x is hidden in the words.
Translating written words to math symbols is not easy. Kids improve their math literacy skills as they get older, but the problems get much more complex too.
Better habit: Encourage your children to look at math problems twice. Word problems should be read three times. Have them pay special attention to the operation symbols and words.
Bad Habit #4 Finishing and forgetting.
Children who adopt first three better habits will make fewer mistakes, but they will still make some. Use this last better habit to catch those lingering mistakes.
Better habit: After finishing, take a short break. If it is during a test, the break may only be a few seconds of closing the eyes and deep breathing. After the break, look over all the answers to verify that they make sense, quickly re-read some problems to make sure no details were missed. If any answer doesn’t seem right, take a moment to check each step of the process.
A Final Word about Accuracy
In real life math problems, errors in math accuracy can have huge implications. You can read about some of the funny and disastrous math accuracy mistakes here. https://threesixty360.wordpress.com/category/math-mistakes/
At Mathnasium of Cottage Grove we not only teach math skills, we develop great math habits. Many of our students love getting into our “zero errors club” or getting our “Nerd Award” Exchange the club and award for whatever incentives you give for math accuracy.
Come check us out! Learn more about our methods. https://www.mathnasium.com/cottagegrove/method
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