How to help your child with Maths
"Arrggghh - we are already so busy, how can I fit it in?"
You don’t have to sit down at a desk with pen and paper and do formal Mathematics homework with children of primary school age. The key is to do a little often. It’s important to keep it light and fun – the last thing you want to do is put them off the subject. Regular short snippets of practice can help a lot and are easy to fit in and around all their other activities. You can teach a lot of the required knowledge and strategies through quick quizzes (in the car, during tv ad breaks etc), through everyday experiences (eg measuring while cooking) and with 5 minutes on a notepad before bed. Ideally they are doing homework without even realising it! You'll be amazed at how much of a difference you can make by simply grabbing five or ten minutes teaching time every second day.
During the intermediate stage (Years 7 & 8) you may wish to introduce more structured Maths homework to help prepare them for their senior schooling. I would recommend continuing the habit of frequent little snippets in and around everyday life but gradually adding two or three 20 minute 'at a desk with pen and paper' slots a week .
"What exactly do I teach them in these short Maths snippets?"
I have used the New Zealand Curriculum and Ministry of Education guidelines to provide the following suggestions of what to go over with your child in:
Years 1 & 2 Numeracy
Years 3 & 4 Numeracy
Years 5 & 6 Numeracy
There are also some sample questions available online for each Year level: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, Year 6 . Note that these questions are aimed at being appropriate for the end of the given Year level.
By Years 7 & 8 there is a greater depth of knowledge and more complex strategies required. The links below give a solid summary of what they need to know as provided by the Ministry of Education.
Years 7 & 8: Number & Algebra
Geometry & Measurement
Statistics & Probability
Some examples of questions appropriate for the end of Year 7 and for the end of Year 8 can be found here.
The Ministry of Education's NZ Maths website also provides resources - you can enter the curriculum level or stage (see the Where to Start page if you are unsure as to what curriculum level your child is; see the Numeracy Project stages at the bottom of this page to see which stage they should be at.)
The website www.pocketbasics.com also has some great free downloads for practising basic number facts, times tables etc.
"Uh oh, my child just isn't getting the work you've suggested - what now?"
Some of the knowledge and strategies I suggest for the given Year levels are harder than others – there is a range and they are based on the average student - your child may well not be average. Start with something they can do even if this means dropping back a Year level or two, work on this until they can do it easily, then challenge them a little more and so on. It doesn't matter if they start out at low level, what is important is that they progress. Don’t underestimate how long it takes children to master something – it can be tempting to rush through the list but this will simply leave your child feeling overwhelmed and may knock their confidence too. They need loads of repetition and mountains of praise...and a bit of blackmail here and there!
"How come there's not much emphasis on times-tables and writing out 3 digit sums?"
One of the most significant changes to the teaching of Maths in comparison to how it was done in my day is that there is now a greater emphasis on being able to solve mathematical problems mentally and using a variety of strategies to do so. Parents may be horrified to find a fairly empty looking Maths workbook or one that looks unstructured. There are no longer pages and pages of sums written out. I think it is harder for kids today as we could get away with mindlessly follow the steps of how to add 3 digit numbers together using pen and paper without really understanding why it worked. Today’s students are expected to justify why they take each step in the solving of a problem and they are taught to work problems out in their heads. There is less rote learning and more logic, which can be challenging for parents and children alike! Maths is now divided into Strategies (methods of working a problem out) and Knowledge (facts such as times-tables and the names of shapes). Both are important - students still need good basic number knowledge to be able to use strategies.
The Numeracy Project
Many schools in New Zealand have made these changes to the teaching of Maths via the introduction of something called The Numeracy Project. Children are encouraged to learn a range of different ways to solve problems and to choose the best method. This represents quite a change from the old 'rules' for how you solved Maths problems. While these will still work, your child may learn different ways to solve problems. Often these methods involve mental strategies, or working things out in your head, rather than written methods.
This idea behind the Numeracy Project is that the change in approach to maths education will better prepare students for the world we now live in. To quote the Ministry of Education: "Employers are increasingly looking for staff that have problem solving skills and an understanding of concepts, rather than just the ability to follow rules for calculating. The increasing use of technology has also meant that a calculator or computer is almost always available in the workplace for larger calculations."
What stage should my child be at for their age? There are eight stages that cover Years 1 to 9 - so throughout primary and including the first year of college. The first four stages are quicker to progress through than the later ones. At the end of Year 1, children should be at Stage 2 or above, end of Year 2 at Stage 4 or above, end of Year 4 at Stage 5 or above, end of Year 6 at Stage 6 or above and end of Year 9 at Stage 7 or above. If that has left you totally confused have a look below to see where child is expected to be and whether you have cause for concern.
This idea behind the Numeracy Project is that the change in approach to maths education will better prepare students for the world we now live in. To quote the Ministry of Education: "Employers are increasingly looking for staff that have problem solving skills and an understanding of concepts, rather than just the ability to follow rules for calculating. The increasing use of technology has also meant that a calculator or computer is almost always available in the workplace for larger calculations."
What stage should my child be at for their age? There are eight stages that cover Years 1 to 9 - so throughout primary and including the first year of college. The first four stages are quicker to progress through than the later ones. At the end of Year 1, children should be at Stage 2 or above, end of Year 2 at Stage 4 or above, end of Year 4 at Stage 5 or above, end of Year 6 at Stage 6 or above and end of Year 9 at Stage 7 or above. If that has left you totally confused have a look below to see where child is expected to be and whether you have cause for concern.
