What Are Mean, Mode, Median & Range in Math?
In this middle-school-friendly introduction to mean, mode, median, and range in math you’ll discover simple definitions, examples, and a fun quiz. Enjoy!
Parents, if there’s one golden nugget of math advice we can pass along to help you set your family up for math success, this Washington Post op-ed by Petra Bonfert-Taylor sums it up:
Stop telling kids you’re bad at math. You are spreading math anxiety ‘like a virus.’
Here’s some food for thought: most people see no problem admitting their distaste for math! In contrast, Bonfert-Taylor states that “Few people would consider proudly announcing that they’re bad at writing or reading.” Collectively, “We are perpetuating damaging myths by telling ourselves a few untruths: math is inherently hard, only geniuses understand it, we never liked math in the first place and nobody needs math anyway.”
Now that you have the myths, here are some math facts:
As parents, you can help crush cultural math myths and set the stage for your child’s success by promoting positive, realistic attitudes about math and making your household a math-friendly home! Include some math games into the rotation for family game night (Monopoly and Cribbage are two of our favorites!). Get your child involved in cooking and dive into concepts such as ratio and proportion. If you have a pet, ask questions like, “If Buffy eats 2 cups of food a day, and this 40-lb bag of dog food has about 130 cups of food, how many days will the bag of dog food last? How many weeks? How many months?” If you’re feeling the math blues, we specialize in making math fun—reach out to us for ideas and a dose of inspiration!
If you struggled with math as a child, take heart—it is entirely possible to support a struggling child without tapping into your own negative experiences. Use the right language when speaking with your child: Math isn’t “hard”, but it does require practice. As you explore math with your child, do so with fresh eyes, an open mind, and a desire to learn. You’ll find many opportunities to slay your personal math dragons, boost number sense, and have fun!
How do you debunk math myths in your household?