Tyson, a second grader, can do mental math fairly well when the problem is written down, but not when he hears it. He especially has trouble working with numbers 10 to 20. When counting out loud, he often confuses the numbers 11, 12, and 13.
Emily, a fourth grader, gets decent grades in math, but now seems to struggle with division. She often forgets that all three division symbols mean the same thing. She also gets confused about the difference of 12 divided by 4 and 4 divided by 12 (4/12 or 12/4).
Tilly, a tenth grader, has been struggling in math for a long time. Word problems using percentages and ratios give her nightmares.
What Does Each Child’s Struggle have in Common?
Tyson, Emily, and Tilly are all trying to make sense out of the language of math. In math, numbers are nouns and the operations are the verbs. A complete number sentence describes one thing in relation to another thing. Students must be able to fluently read, write, listen and speak the written and oral language of math to effectively communicate.
Tip #1 Talk about math whenever the opportunity arises. Get kids comfortable speaking and listening to the language of math. To most students (and many adults) math feels like a foreign language because they don’t talk about math much at home beyond basic tasks. In fact, parents who want to help children with math should read our article about confusing math terms to avoid frustration about math vocabulary words. A parent might say “whole numbers”, meaning integers, and the child was hearing “hole numbers,” as in the numbers with holes 0, 6, and 9. You might laugh but it happens.
Tip #2 Use math vocabulary terms accurately when talking about math. Be sure to define them for your child. Kids can handle long words when they are defined and used in context. Math and English are NOT a Match made in Heaven. Have you ever had to clarify if someone said “sixteen” or “sixty?” The trouble isn’t just that they sound similar, they both start with the word six, but one means 10+6 and the other means 10 x 6. ¡Ay Caramba! No wonder English speaking children get confused with basic arithmetic.
Our English counting system makes learning lower level math especially challenging. Think about the names of the numbers 11 through 19. The English words do not describe the quantity and relationships like Korean and many other Asian languages do. The word for 15 in Chinese is similar to saying “10 and 5 ones” and the word for 50 in Chinese is similar to saying “5 tens.” Can you imagine how much easier it would be to manipulate numbers in your head if the words actually described the quantity? A Chinese or Korean-speaking child only has to memorize counting to 10 and then follow a logical pattern. The English speaking child must memorize the numbers up to 16, use a pattern for the next 3 numbers where they say the ones place before the 10’s place (six teen) and then switch the pattern at 20 to saying the tens place first. This makes concepts like counting and place value difficult for many children. Spanish and French are not much better than English for math, but at least 16, 17, 18, and 19 translates to “10 and 6”, “10 and 7” “10 and 8” “10 and 9.”
Tip #3 Remember English is a flawed system. Give your young kids lots of opportunities to practice counting, addition, and subtraction to help them overcome this obstacle. If your family speaks a language like Korean or Chinese with a better counting system, use it for early math instruction.
Short of learning Korean, or inventing a new number system for English, we are stuck with our flawed system. But at least we can recognize our flawed system makes it very difficult for some students to see patterns and relationships in the numbers. That’s why at Mathnasium of Parker we work so hard to help students develop numerical fluency and number sense. Using numbers frequently and creatively will give the children the skills they need to improve their math language skills.
Tip #4 Play math games. Games like Multiplication War, Zoom! and Monopoly allow children to have fun while honing math skills. For descriptions of these and other math games please read Jump Start your Summer with Mathnasium and Math Games
Developing Mathematical Literacy
Remember Emily who is struggling with understanding her division problems, like the difference between 12/4 and 4/12? In third grade she figured out that making 4 equal groups from a set of 12 is easier than making 12 equal groups out of a set of 4. When she got confused about the difference of 12 ÷4 and 4 ÷12, she assumed she was supposed to make 4 groups from a set of 12. In fourth grade, that method didn’t work so well because she was expected to be able to work with fractions. So sometimes the problem really was 4 divided by 12, and she couldn’t tell when.
Just like reading words, reading math requires understanding the grammar, context and word order. Division is especially difficult because it can look quite different from one problem to the next. Look at the difference in placement of the number “3” in the following sentences.
12÷3 = 4 12/3=4
They all express the same idea but with different symbols. And without context the meaning itself is ambiguous. For a confused child, they could mean four groups of three unidentified objects or three groups of four unidentified objects. The variety of symbols, various placements of numbers and lack of meaningful context in these problems are enough to make a child’s head spin. If the child struggles with dyslexia, the problem is compounded even more.
Tip #5 Give math problems context and use actual items to manipulate. When working with money, use real coins and bills. For time, use a real clock with minute and hour hands. For factions, use chocolate bars, graham crackers, pizza and other items that can easily be divided into equal sized pieces. Even just having a child draw pictures to represent the problem helps the child make meaning of the problem.
Equal but Different
Kids are funny. Sometimes a parent thinks they have explained a concept a hundred times and it still not helping their child. Then, someone else explains it and all of a sudden the child gets it. Why? Maybe a different phrase was used and it clicked with the child. Sometimes hearing “5 times 3” resonates differently than saying “3 groups of 5” or “5, 3 times.” Or maybe they just needed to hear it for the hundred and first time before it "clicked."
Tip #6 Try different approaches. Ask someone else to explain it (see above). Older children are often a great resource for this. At Mathnasium of Parker we keep trying different approaches until we find the one that works. Our goal for each student at our center is understanding and mastery of the concepts we teach them.
Homework
Mathnasium of Parker knows that math homework can cause strife in many families. We have addressed the problem in Stop the Tears, Arguments & Whining During Math Homework.
Tip #7 Make homework time free of stress and external stimuli by providing adequate support, time, and space for your child to concentrate.
Learn from the Experts
Our mission at Mathnasium of Parker is to help every child make sense of math and feel confident and successful in math. Our founder, Larry Martinek says, “Children don’t hate math. They do hate being confused and intimidated by math. With understanding comes passion, and with passion comes growth – a treasure is unlocked.” Some of the brightest kids in our schools are not experiencing success because their personal strengths do not match their learning environment.
Tip # 8 Find out more about how to maximize your child’s potential. Here are some resources.
Mathnasium of Parker Encourages Girls & Young Women to Pursue STEM Opportunities
Math Takes Time to Conquer
What Happens to Your Child’s Brain During Summer
What Math Tests Reveal About Your Child
6 Ways for Accelerated and Advanced Math Students to Get Excited about Math Again
Characteristics of a Successful Student
Prepare Your Child for Calculus Starting in the Second Grade
Talk to Allison at Mathnasium of Parker
This article barely scratches the surface on ways to help children be successful in math. Our method page explains our approach and why it is so successful.
Tip # 9 Fill out the Contact Us page or call us at 303-840-1184 to learn more about how we can help your child walk into math class with their heads held high and excited to learn more.
This article was written by and owned by Cuttlefish Copywriting. It is copyright protected. Mathnasium of Parker has permission to use it. Other Mathnasium locations should contact Heather at [email protected] before using it.
