Helping Your Children Learn Math

The following ideas were taken from the Administrative Notebook for Middle School Mathematics
Plano Independent School District, Plano, Texas

When helping children learn, one goal is to assist children in figuring out as much as they can for themselves (e.g. constructing meaning). You can help by asking questions that guide, without telling what to do.

Good questions and good listening will help children make sense of mathematics, build self-confidence, and encourage mathematical thinking and communication. A good question opens up a problem and supports different ways of thinking about it. Here are some questions you might try: notice that none of them can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no".

Getting Started	While Working	Reflecting about the solution	Responding (helping your children clarify and extend their thinking)
What do you need to find out? What do you need to know? How can you get the information? Where can you begin? What terms do you understand or not understand? Have you solved similar problems that would help?	How can you organize the information? Can you make a drawing (model) to explain your thinking? Are there other possibilities? What would happen if...? Can you describe an approach (strategy) you can use to solve this? What do you need to do next? Do you see any patterns or relationships that will help solve this? How does this relate to...? Can you make a prediction? What did you...? What assumptions are you making?	How do you know your solution (conclusion) is reasonable? How did you arrive at your answer? How can you convince me your answer makes sense? What did you try that did not work? Has the question been answered? Can the explanation be made clearer?	Tell me more. Can you explain it in a different way? Is there another possibility or strategy that would work? Help me understand this part...

Helping A Child Get Organized

Provide a study place. If possible, have the following materials readily available:
- calculator
- graph paper and notebook paper
- ruler with both metric and standard units
- dictionary

Many children need assistance in organizing and maintaining a notebook.
Develop a system for organizing and maintaining notebook and notes.
Develop a system for writing down assignments, as well as keeping track of progress.