karlunity Posted July 16, 2006 Report Share Posted July 16, 2006 I know that some folks here school their kids at home. Many folks have little problem teaching Reading or Spelling, but Math can be a problem. I have been teaching Math in 7th grade for 16 years and have developed a system that can help. I call it "Math as a language". You teach math the same way that you teach English. Math is nothing more than a new language. The symbols are your alphabet. The glossary and formulas are your words. The steps are your sentences. Before each lesson make sure that the student learns the glossary for that section. For example, if you are giving a lesson on fractions, make sure the students know what "numerator" and denominator" mean and how they relate to each other. Make sure the students know the mathematical symbols used in that lesson. Example make sure that they know ">" means greater than. Don't assume that they know, quiz them once a week. Make sure that they know the formulas that go with the lesson. So, if you are teach a lesson on the perimeter of a rectangle, make sure the students know and understand that P=2(l+w). Steps: Teach the student to work out every problem as a series of steps. Step 1...x+10=20 step 2...x+10-10=20-10 step 3...x+0=20-10 step 4...x=10 ans step 5 check...10+10=20. When you first start with the simpler problems, the kids, as a rule, don't see the value of steps. They think, since they can solve the simple problems in their heads, that it is just extra work. However, what you are doing is teaching them to "think in Math" so that when they come to more difficult problems, they can, by applying these skills, master them. The best way to learn how to do a problem is to correct your mistakes. Each incorrect math problem should be explained corrected and then redone by the student 5 times. Each incorrect glossary word, symbol or formula, should be looked up and written 10 times. Math is nothing more than a new language. The symbols are your alphabet. The glossary and formulas are your words. The steps are your sentences. Good luck Karl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
911rat Posted July 16, 2006 Report Share Posted July 16, 2006 Karl, That's right on. I'm horrible at math. I had trouble meeting my requirements to graduate because of it. Finally, I had a professor who was an MIT graduate. He was obviously teaching well below his abilities. He did exactly as you described and I earned an "A" in the class. He broke it down as a language step by step and it all made sense to me. I hadn't earned an "A" in math since grade school to that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roscoedoh Posted July 16, 2006 Report Share Posted July 16, 2006 The Lord has a special place in Heaven for good math teachers. And may He bless the select few who are truly good at getting hard headed folks like myself to learn it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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