1. Why should children have to explain how they got their answer?
2. I was never good at math. Why should I expect my child to be good at math?
3. What is number sense?
4. How can I help my child with their homework?

Why should children have to explain how they got their answer?

Because talking and writing about mathematical ideas helps students organize
and clarify their thinking, express their thoughts and explain their reasoning.

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I was never good at math. Why should I expect my child to be good at math?

Because the ability to be successful at math is not genetic! Chances are you
do not consider yourself good at math because you did not learn math with
understanding. You most likely had a hard time remembering all of the algorithms
and formulas and gave up because it was socially acceptable.

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What is number sense?

Number sense means being able to think and reason flexibly about numbers. It
includes the ability to think about the reasonableness of an answer or
strategy, to compute mentally and with efficiency. Relating math to real
experiences helps foster number sense as does having students explain their
thinking.

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How can I help my child with their homework?

Talk to them and ask them to explain how they got their answer. Ask some key
questions such as:  What do you need to find out? What information do you
have? What strategies can you use? What math tools will you need? Can you draw
a picture? Can you use mental math? What have you learned before that would
help you solve this problem? Does your answer make sense?

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