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Sleuthing and Shadows—
Seven Math Enrichment Ideas
by Suzanne Sutton
American students are not learning math well. Though the reasons are hotly debated, the results are not. Our students' math performance continues to disappoint, and the remedies in our schools don't seem to be working. In widely publicized international tests, the U.S. was the only nation in which kids actually did worse as they moved through school. And no group seems to be immune. Most Americans had long believed that perhaps the results were skewed downward because of our wide and diverse population, but we'd held onto a belief that at least our top students were tops in the world. But recent studies shattered that belief: when only advanced students were compared, America's advanced students came in last. Last. Most parents are anxious to intervene in whatever way they can to change
the outcome for their own children—during
the school year, or even in the lazy
days of summer.
Summer school and remedial classes are an alternative, of course, but not the most appealing. If math is distasteful during the school year, it is really distasteful during the summer. And summer school is more of the same—
the same math, the same way. With a
class full of kids, and a set
curriculum, the reach can't be very high. But oh, what a parent can do! Even a parent who doesn't know, or even particularly like math. ANY PARENT CAN
Parents have only a few kids to worry about
- and time,
space, and freedom. That other, less pleasant component that we all have— anxiety—can be left in a closet with the winter coats. This is summer! Here are some ideas to deepen your children's math skills, interest, confidence and knowledgeè—while they're running, hiding, playing, and just being kids. 1. Let them see grown-up mathematics.
Kids love to feel big, and they can do
"big" math. In fact, being exposed to
higher math is a great motivator. Think of
baseball. What child doesn't feel
inspired after watching a major league
game, picturing himself running
those bases someday?
You will find more than you can imagine in the non-fiction books in the children section of your public library. These books will help you and your children see that math is much more than arithmetic. Parent's fear of these topics is normal. For some reason, we all believe we're supposed to be able to do the math before we show it to them. We don't, any more than we need to know the names of the stars before we sit under them and look up. Don't be afraid to show them math that's more difficult than you—or they can do. Revere it, wonder about it, explore it. They will look forward to being able to do it someday. 2. Guide them to become an expert in something in math.
Expertise is a powerful, powerful motivator
and confidence builder. And once
they become expert at one part of math,
they can become expert at others.
They've learned how.
Most kids love to play school. Encourage them to learn a small topic really well—something from last year or something from next year— and then teach you, or their baby brother, or their bears. 3. Let them do taxes! Deadlines don't matter here. The forms are free, and they are anything but child-like. Put aside your adult aversion to them, and you have a ready-made, easily adaptable, multi-step math problem. It can be FUN! They can make up numbers, and
make up personae. Imagine the
Schedule C of a rock star, or the itemized
deductions of Ebenezer Scrooge. 4. Adopt a mathematician.
Most American students go through 12 years
of
math without ever knowing its great history. What a shame, because this history breathes life into the subject, and forever changes their experience of it. You can help - easily. Have each of your children choose a different one of history's great mathematicians. Get pictures of them to put on their walls. Learn and celebrate their birthdays. Read about the math they did - even if you don't have a clue. Read about their lives, about where they lived. Don't overlook mathematicians from other lands, and other continents. 5. Toughen up, with a twist.
All kids need a fast and ready command of
the
basics, and they're not getting it. Bypass the debate, put the calculators away, and let your children become champs. The debate over drills and computation overlooks one very significant fact: kids don't mind it, and they LOVE feeling competent. We have come to associate drill in math with something fierce and tortured, while on the playground we aren't surprised to see kids shooting basket after basket after basket with a smile on their face. We can do the same in math. Parents are in the best position. At home, there are no time pressures, no other kids to be compared to; we can structure it in such a way that they feel praise and encouragement every step of the way. Motivation and rewards can be so simple; Mrs. Finch had a chart, gave her students stars at each successful step, and they clamored for those stars like they were gold. Parents can do even more. 6. Do Weekly Family Challenges.
At www.NewtonsWindow.com,
you can find weekly challenges throughout the
summer, and all year long. Your
public library has puzzle books of all kinds.
Let each child find and present one to the
family every week. Unlike homework
problems, these aren't dependent on any
skills—other than a clear head—and
you can take as much time as you need.
In a non-pressured environment,
they teach kids the important math skills
of exploring, wondering,, and wandering
in math, mulling over a problem rather than
just racing through. Through them,
kids—and parents—discover strengths and
aptitudes they never knew they had,
not to mention problem-solving strategies.
7. Help them become math detectives.
Children love mystery and intrigue and
sleuthing. How mathematical! To
make use of the delightful connection, we
created some child-sized sleuths,
and put them in the midst of some very good
stories. Kids can join them on
mathematical treasure hunts and adventures,
with ingredients and ideas
packed into the Newton's Window
"math-in-a-box" kits, or in dozens of adaptable
(and free) ideas on the site, at www.NewtonsWindow.com.
or all around them.
Math, after all, is deduction, and what
better way to connect them more deeply
to this subject, than through adventures
that will intrigue and delight, while
building skills and confidence at the same
time
Parents can find all of these and many more enrichment ideas in "Math-in-a-Box" enrichment kits for different ages, at www.NewtonsWindow.com, or P.O Box 8706, Gaithersburg, MD, 20878-8706. |
