- What are some games I can play with my child that teach math concepts?
- How can I make math part of my child's everyday life?
- What is number sense?
- I heard that students play a lot of games in Bridges. Why would students play games in math class?
- Why does Bridges ask students to explain their answers and show their work?
- How can Bridges help students who are very talented in math?
What are some games I can play with my child that teach math concepts?
Number Sense and Counting:
-Candy Land -Chutes and Ladders -Sorry
-Sum Swamp -Triominoes For Kids -Uno
-Hi-Ho! Cherry-o -Shut The Box
Attributes, Patterns, and Geometry:
-Peanut Butter & Jelly -Perfection -Mazes
-Puzzles -Guess Who -Tangrams
Problem Solving and Logical Reasoning:
-Battleship -Mastermind -Clue Jr. -Connect Four
-Checkers -Junior Monopoly -Mancala -Memory
-Stratego -Rush Hour -Othello -Chess -Brainquest
How can I make math part of my child's everyday life?
Leave the flashcards, workbooks, and other skill-and-drill stuff to the
teacher. At home, the best way to help your child learn to love math is to
play with numbers, and to frequently point out the various ways in which math
makes our lives easier. By working with tangible objects, and
counting,sorting, estimating, measuring, looking for patterns, and solving
real-life problems, children learn to think in mathematical terms, without
worrying whether or not they're "smart enough" to do math.
Almost anything you do that involves numbers and/or problem solving will build
your child's math skills. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:
• Have your child set the table (counting and sorting the sets of
plates,napkins, cups, and silverware).
• Post a running countdown of the days until her birthday. Let her change the
number each day.
• Challenge him to guess at things, and then find the answers. For example:
How many bowls of cereal do you think we can get out of this box? How many
M&Ms do you think are in your (snack size) bag?
How many minutes do you think it will take to clear off the table? Which of
these cups do you think will hold more juice?
• Play a copycat game, where one person creates a pattern (pat your head,touch
your knee, clap three times) and the other person has to repeat the pattern
three times in a row.
• Ask your child to help you create a pattern for a quilt square or an
abstract picture using markers and paper; construction paper in different
colors, cut into square, triangle, and other shapes; or shapes cut out of
different fabrics.
• Ask your child to measure things in non-traditional units. For example:
Let's see how many footsteps it takes to get from here to the door. Why do you
think it's more for you and fewer for me? How many action figures (or Barbie
dolls) long is this table?
• Have your child compare things: Which do you think is heavier — a cookie or
ten chocolate chips? Who do you think is taller, mom or dad? Which carrot is
longer? Fatter? Crunchier?
• Give your child problems to solve — and let her work them out by touching
and counting actual objects. For example: I have four cookies here, but two
people want to eat them. How many should each person get? If we invite six
kids to your birthday party, and put two candy bars in each kid's treat bag,
how many of these candy bars will we need?
The above answer was take from the:
The 10 Best Ways to Help Your Kindergartener Succeed in School
A parent's to-do list.
By Ann E. LaForge
http://www.scholastic.com/schoolage/kindergarten/homework/10bestways.htm#math
What is number sense?
“Number sense, like common sense is difficult to define. It
refers to an intuitive feel for numbers and their various uses and
interpretations. Number sense also includes the ability to compute accurately
and efficiently, to detect errors, and to recognize results as reasonable.
People with number sense are able to understand numbers and use them
effectively in everyday living.” (p. 138).
Kindergarten Number Sense refers to a student’s ability to recognize numbers,
identify their relative values and understand how to use them in a variety of
ways, such as counting, measuring or estimating. Relating math to real
experiences helps foster number sense as does having students explain their
thinking.
Definition taken from: Helping Children Learn Mathematics (7th Edition) by
Reys, Lindquist, Lambdin, Smith, and Suydam.
I heard that students play a lot of games in Bridges. Why would students play games in math class?
Decades of research have shown games to be an effective way for students to
practice their skills such as counting, recalling facts, telling time, and
counting money. While worksheets are one effective way to practice such
skills, games reward children for speed and strategy, and are especially
engaging to young learners. We also find that games motivate students to do
their best and that adjusting the game rules or parameters is a quick way for
teachers to make them easier or more difficult for different groups of
students. Games are also an effective way to practice more than one skill at a
time: for example, counting money and adding numbers.
For more information about helping your kindergartener
http://www.mathlearningcenter.org/resources/materials/parents.asp
Why does Bridges ask students to explain their answers and show their work?
Asking students to show their work provides more information for teachers and
improves student learning: when students explain how they solved a problem,
they come to understand the mathematical concepts more deeply. Showing their
work also provides detailed evidence that teachers can use to see what
students know and where their misconceptions lie. This evidence is essential:
it allows teachers to adjust the way they teach to meet students’ needs, and
it allows them to document student learning over time, which helps them
communicate with families about students’ progress. For similar reasons, state
tests often require students to explain how they solved a problem. Students
are better prepared for such test items when they explain their solutions on a
regular basis.
For more information about helping your kindergartener
http://www.mathlearningcenter.org/resources/materials/parents.asp
How can Bridges help students who are very talented in math?
In a Bridges classroom, students practice counting and basic math concepts,
but they also spend a lot of time working through problems that require more
mathematical sophistication and creativity. All Bridges students are invited
to extend their thinking, make generalizations, and support their answers on a
regular basis. Students who answer question quickly and easily might be
invited to explain why or to solve the problem another way. The teachers'
guides also include many specific suggestions that help the teacher prompt
students to take a problem to the next level. It is also important to make
sure that students not only have the ability to recall basic facts, but also
understands the math concepts.
The Math Lab and your child’s classroom teacher also have a variety of
activities and centers that will challenge a student’s problem solving and
critical thinking skills.
For more information about helping your kindergartener
http://www.mathlearningcenter.org/resources/materials/parents.asp