math challenges

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Home : 2002 : October : 19

math challenges
By carolyn

Cathy-Dee presents some good ideas here. I teach fifth grade, and I have some at both ends of the spectrum, also. With such a range, you really do have to have math groups. I don't have time in the day to do math AND reading
groups, so between the two I chose math, because everybody was basically on grade level in reading according to our state tests. Math was, and continues to be the weakness of my kids.
I have to agree that the reduction in manipulatives is a problem for older children. Watch a Kindergarten or first grade class in action, and they are playing with so many different things, while

older kids are using mostly pencil and paper activities. Parents will request more workbook pages to be send home for practice, but I will tell these parents that they could do more to help their children by asking that they help them cook--measure quantities, figure out how many eggs would be needed if they made TWO batches instead of the recipe's one, for example. They could help at home with determining how much grass seed will cover the lawn (area), how big the fence will be to surround the yard (perimeter), how many bricks will be needed to complete a walkway and what pattern will be used to complete the walkway, etc. These things also help the kids develop spatial sense.

Unfortunately, kids are being raised on computers, TV, and video games, none of which really gives the child the opportunity for real-world experiences. These are fun, but they are not the concrete opportunities that kids need to learn. I also see that my students have trouble doing what should be simple tactile and kinesthetic tasks, such as cutting with scissors.

What you need to do is obtain as many geoboards, pattern blocks, tangram puzzles, Unifix cubes, Leggo blocks, etc. for kids to manipulate. This will help them develop those concepts they seem to be missing. I pull these out on rainy days when we can't go outdoors.