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Parent Handbook
What
to Look For
Most
Important Teacher
Mathematics
in Your Home
Mathematics
in Daily Life
Helping
with Homework
Technology
Why Modify
the Curriculum
NCTM
Standards
Illinois
Learning Standards
Mathematics
Literature
Resources
for Parents
Math
Web Sites
The
Magic of Math 
Jackie
L. Cox
Clinical Instructor
Southern
Illinois University
Wham 137 Mail Code 4612
Carbondale, IL
Tom
Lewis
Fifth Grade Teacher
Jane Addams
3420
53rd Street
Moline, IL
You can order printed
copies of this handbook
in
increments of 100
from:
Henry Printing, Inc.
975
Charles Road
P.O. box 2706
Carondale, IL 62902
Phone: (618) 529-3040 |
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Help
Your Child See How Mathematics is a Part of Daily Life
Parents and other family members can influence
their student's math skills. Perhaps you do not realize it, but
whenever you sort objects, read maps or schedules, compare prices,
make change, or use a calculator or calendar, you are a model of
mathematical behavior. When you measure, weigh, work with family
finances, or figure out how much wallpaper will cover a wall, you are
a living textbook!
The best help you can give your student in math is
simply to make your child aware of when and how to use math. Whenever
possible, talk through activities with your child and encourage
him/her to take part in them. Think out loud, make estimates, check
them, correct mistakes, and try more than one way to solve a problem.
When you do, you provide your child with important experiences in
mathematical thinking.
Here are a few math activities that you can do with
your child.
Estimation Activities
- Young children can estimate by using items like
pencils, crayons, or parts of their own bodies. Older children can
use regular units of measurement like rulers or measuring cups and
spoons.
- Ask your child to guess the number of items in
your home. Make a list. Then count them together. Examples may
include pillows, windows. doors, chairs, and shoes. Then compare
estimates with an actual count. Make comparisons between items to
help young children understand the concepts of "more" or "less"
and put them into categories.
- Ask your child to determine how much time he/she
will have to wait until his/her favorite TV program comes on.
- Have your child estimate how many minutes or
hours he/she spends watching TV each evening, weekend, or during an
entire week.
- Have your child complete his/her own height and
weight charts. Begin by estimating, actually measure, and then graph
the information. Keep a record over a period of time.
Traveling Activities
- Discuss directions (north, south, east, and
west) to give your child a sense of coordinates. Have child use
street maps to find travel routes and addresses and estimate the
time of your arrival and compare that to the actual time it took to
arrive at a given destination.
- Have competitions when traveling. Have child
count red cars or see who can find the largest number formed by the
numerals on a license plate.
- Have child practice, record, and read the large
number on license plates viewed. Find the largest number in a given
time period of travel.
- Have child estimate, then time how long before a
street light changes. Estimate, then count how many stores are in a
block.
- Point out speed limits and distances between
towns. Talk to child about the time it takes to get from one town to
another when you drive at different speeds.
- Have child practice reading the numbers on the
odometer.
- Have child check odometer in the car to
determine distances on a trip - starting point and ending
destination.
- Have child find the differences between certain
distances traveled. Find out how much farther you traveled on the
first day than you did on the second day.
Cooking/Shopping Activities
- Let child help with the cooking by measuring the
ingredients and checking cooking times and temperatures. Older
children can increase or decrease recipes.
- Have child figure out how to cut a pizza, cake,
pie, or sandwich for different numbers of people.
- Have child determine how much or how many of a
grocery item is needed for the entire family, or how much is needed
for a given recipe.
- Have child check a grocery receipt to find five
items that add up to less than $1.00, $5.00, or $10.00.
- Let child help with the shopping by checking and
comparing prices, weights, and quantities. Allow him/her to use a
calculator to make these comparisons as he/she also keeps track of
the total cost of your purchases. If available, allow your child to
use the calculator on the shopping cart to keep track of how much
money is being spent on groceries while you shop.
- Have child determine how much change you will
receive once you've paid the clerk. Older children can practice
writing a check for the total amount of the grocery bill.
- Using catalogs or newspapers, have child spend a
specified unit of money (figure in tax, shipping, and handling
charges) and complete order forms.
- Have child look at the sales flyer and determine
how much money you could save by buying the sale items.
- Have child determine and select the "best
buys" and then prepare the shopping list (i.e., one item costs
$7.50 and 2 items cost $14.00).
- Notice large and small numbers all around in
magazines and newspapers and have child practice reading the numbers
(i.e., weather, cost of a new car, grocery items, price of toys,
etc.).
- Have child determine how much a single item
costs that is sold by the package (i.e., a single roll of toilet
tissue purchased in a four-pack, one roll of paper towels purchased
in a two-pack, the price of one can of soda packaged in a box of 12
or 24, etc.).
Household Activities
- Have child see what items in the house come in
sets of two (hands, feet, shoes), sets of six (cans of soda), and
sets of twelve (eggs in a carton).
- Have child help with the laundry by matching the
socks, sorting the clothing into appropriate colors, discussing
clothing size according to each family member.
- Have your child determine how much laundry soap
to use.
- Have your child graph daily chores, money earned
from chores, and/or purchases.
- Have children find pictures or items that are
sold in sets (i.e., 4 batteries to a package) and have them
determine how many batteries there would be in three packages.
Playing
- Encourage child to play games that involve
counting, finding patterns, using strategy, and solving patterns.
- Allow child to use a calculator and encourage "messing
around" with it to explore numbers, look for patterns, and
investigate number patterns.
- Relate sports and the stock market to
mathematics. The daily newspaper is full of scores, schedules,
statistics, and graphs.
- Card games provide excellent opportunities for
learning math concepts. "Go Fish" and "War" help
younger children to recognize numbers and things that are alike, to
group and sort, and to use strategy in discarding to win. Gin Rummy,
Casino, Canasta, and Cribbage are more complex card games for older
children.
- Ask child questions that require simple mental
math. Use questions such as, "What are two numbers that add up
to 7? What number is two less than 17? Eighteen is twice as big as
what number? Can you name two numbers that multiply to 12 at the
same time they add up to 7?"
- Play math 'Jeopardy" with your child. Give
child a number and ask him/her to find a question for which the
number is the answer.
- Plan art activities that use measurement,
patterns, and/or geometry.
- Plan math scavenger hunts and have child look
for lists of specific math related items (i.e., geometric shapes,
number of items, etc.) in the house, yard, or in the neighborhood.
- Have child design and make his/her own math
practice games.
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