Bringing Math Home: A Parent's Guide to Elementary School Math: Games, Activities, Projects

241 Pages·2006·7.34 MB·English

by  Suzanne L. Churchman

G ames + Activitie s + Projects
Bringing
Math Home
A Parent’s Guide
to Elementary School Math
Suzanne L. Churchman
Chicago
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Is available from the Library of Congress
To R. J. Price
An outstanding principal andinstructionalleader
All rights reserved. The purchase of this book entitles an individual parent to
reproduce the forms. The reproduction of any part for an entire school or school
system or for commercial use is strictly prohibited. No form of this work may be
reproduced, transmitted, or recorded without written permission from the publisher.
Cover and interior design: Monica Baziuk
© 2006 by Suzanne L. Churchman
All rights reserved
Published by Zephyr Press
An imprint of Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
814 North Franklin Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
ISBN-13: 978-1-56976-203-1
ISBN-10: 1-56976-203-5
eBook ISBN: 1-56976-218-X
Printed in the United States of America
Acknowledgments
I want to give heartfelt thanks to the following:
Bill, my husband, for all the hours of reading, and for his expertise in how to put
my ideas down on paper.
My daughter, Michelle, for all the formatting and editing of the manuscript. Her
knowledge in these areas was invaluable to the completion of this book.
Becky Medley, for her advice and materials in all things relating to the primary
grades, as well as her many years of friendship.
Robynn Clairday, my agent and friend, for her unwavering belief and support.
And my deepest gratitude to R. J. Price, for teaching me how to be a real teacher.
This book would not have been possible without the support of the great people at
Zephyr Press: my editors Jerome Pohlen and Lisa Rosenthal and their hardworking
support team Allison Felus, Production editor, Gerilee Hundt, managing editor, and
Monica Baziuk, designer.
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v
How to Use This Book . . . . . . . .vii
CONTENT STANDARDS 1
1. Numbers and Operations . . . . . . . .3
2. Algebra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
3. Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
4. Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
5. Data Analysis and Probability . . . .129
PROCESS STANDARDS 155
6. Problem Solving . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157
7. Reasoning and Proof . . . . . . . . . .173
8. Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181
9. Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189
10. Representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195
SUMMING IT UP 201
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230
Introduction
From birth to age five you, as a parent, are your offspring’s primary mentor. Then, this
relationship abruptly changes. Your child goes off to school, and he or she is no longer
just your baby. You are embarking on one of life’s most important quests: the formal
education of your child. Even though you have handed off your child’s formal learning
to someone else, you still have a large part to play. Just as a child’s reading ability is
affected by how often he or she is read to and by whether reading is a common activ-
ity at home, a child’s math skills are also greatly enhanced by using math during every-
day activities. Parents can provide these experiences.
Perhaps you have fond memories of your own early years in school, when you were
learning to write your name, say the alphabet, and count to 100. But wait a minute!
School no longer looks like you remember it. You might find yourself saying, “We never
had any math like this when I was in school.” You might worry how you can assist your
child if you don’t even understand what’s being taught—especially when your child has
progressed to the upper elementary years, when the subject matter becomes more dif-
ficult. This book will shed some light on the new methods and terminology being used
and simplify the confusion caused by these ongoing changes.
In the last 15 to 20 years, elementary mathematics has changed drastically, to encom-
pass much more than simple arithmetic. From the 1940s through the ’60s, mathemat-
ics in the elementary grades was based on the factory model. During this period, a
large segment of the labor force worked on the assembly line. The math needed for this
work was basic: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The needs of the
business community were reflected in school curriculum.
But beginning in the 1970s, and continuing up through the present, our economic
base has gradually shifted from manufacturing to service-related jobs. The manufac-
turing tasks once done by human labor are now completed by robots, with humans in
charge of the machinery. While everyone needs to understand arithmetic, employees
no longer need to rely on computational skills. That now falls to the realm of calcula-
tors and computers. Prospective workers now need higher-level thinking skills to meet
the demands of industry and service-related occupations.
v
vi Introduction
In response, schools have changed, too. As in the past, schools become responsible
for preparing the nation’s children to become productive members of society. Schools
prepare kids to find jobs, and they must coordinate with business to do so. The empha-
sis has shifted to a much broader understanding of mathematical concepts that promote
problem-solving abilities in our youth.
Since 1920 the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has been ded-
icated to improving mathematics education for our nation’s schools, from pre-kinder-
garten through 12th grade. Its goal is to monitor our society’s economic needs, to keep
us competitive with the world’s other leading industrial nations, and to research the
methods needed to teach those skills, ensuring the highest quality of math education.
This nonprofit, nonpartisan organization has developed a set of standards that are used
nationwide. Most states and school districts use these standards as the framework for
their mathematics curriculum. Textbook publishers often include NCTM standards to
show educators that the math texts they distribute are research based and use the lat-
est thinking.
This book will discuss the 10 NCTM-recommended standard areas of mathematics.
The first five—Numbers and Operations, Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, and Data
Analysis and Probability—are called the Content Standards, since they contain the
knowledge or facts needed for mathematics. (Yes, algebra, geometry, and data analysis
are taught beginning in kindergarten now.) The last five—Problem Solving, Reasoning
and Proof, Communication, Connections, and Representations—are called the Process
Standards. These standards tell students “how to do” mathematics.
While at first glance the standards and expectations for elementary school mathemat-
ics may seem like a foreign language, don’t panic and throw up your hands. It’s not as
difficult as it sounds. Many of the objectives that are taught are things that you may
already be doing with your child as everyday events, such as having your child help
when you cook (which teaches fractions and patterns) or teaching him or her to tell
time. The most important part of teaching mathematics is to make it relevant to your
child—to give it meaning. This is where you can have a huge impact. Doing mathemat-
ics in meaningful activities makes it real to your son or daughter.
Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, schools have been pushed
into practicing and drilling vast amounts of material in order for students to pass mul-
tiple-choice standardized tests. Due to the emphasis on test results imposed by this
act, schools are often left with little time for teaching application and meaning. By pro-
viding the everyday experiences that show how mathematics works in the real world,
parents can pick up the slack and contribute to their child’s education.
How to Use
This Book
This book is a collection of fun and meaningful games, activities, discussions, and
projects you can do at home that will help teach the NCTM standards. Each of the first
five chapters is based on the NCTM Content Standards. Different skills are expected
for primary and upper grade students. Therefore, each chapter is divided into a section
for pre-kindergarten through second grade skills and a separate section for third
through fifth grade skills. The skills for each section are in boldface type. Under each
skill, you will find specific games, activities, discussions, or projects that will help you
teach it.
For many skills, a Literature Connection is also included. The books listed will help
reinforce the skill introduced in the activities. Most are wonderful stories that are great
for reading but that also have a mathematical element to them. This is a way to teach
two subjects at once: reading and math. For the upper grades, many of the books are
more specific to mathematics.
The last five chapters discuss the NCTM Process Standards. The skills for these
standards are the same throughout the elementary grades. However, specific applica-
tions for these standards are also discussed in separate sections for the primary grades
and for the upper elementary grades. Since these skills are what children need to do to
apply the Content Standards, examples may be given or references may be made to
activities already discussed in the Content chapters.
In the back of the book, you will find three sections that will help you with the var-
ious activities. There is a glossary of mathematical terms that are used in this book or
that you may find in your child’s math textbook. Also included is an appendix with
many pages that you can photocopy to help with the activities in the book. Finally,
there’s a bibliography providing additional resources for more information, some of
which are geared toward educators and others which are collections of games that can
be played either at home or school. The games, activities, and projects in Bringing Math
Homeare mathematically challenging, but they will also be enjoyable family activities.
vii

Content Standards
In today’s mathematics curriculum, the label “Content Standards” encompasses the
kind of math skills that most commonly come to mind when you think of your stan-
dard conception of “math.” For example,the standards covered in chapter 1,“Numbers
and Operations,” include the computation skills of adding, subtracting, multiplying,
and dividing,along with how our number system is set up.
You may also think of mathematics as including measurement,an area we use read-
ily in daily life,which also happens to be another Content Standard area. You frequently
need to know the length of objects or the dimensions of areas,the number of pounds
needed when buying produce or meat,or a measurement of time in order to complete
your daily or weekly routines. You are thus very familiar with two Content Standard
areas—Number and Operations and Measurement—and are comfortable using them.
However,there are three other Content Standard areas that may seem a little daunt-
ing due to their titles: Algebra, Geometry, and Data Analysis and Probability. These
areas sound like something you learned in middle or high school. Today,schools explore
these areas with even the youngest of students,but at the appropriate level. The study
of algebra at the elementary level is actually pre-algebra,and it lays the foundation for
formal study in later years. Geometry is the study of shapes and their properties. Like-
wise, data analysis explores graphing and organizing information and is the forerun-
ner for more intense study of data and statistics in high school.
All five of these Content Standard areas—Numbers and Operations,Algebra,Geom-
etry, Measurement, and Data Analysis and Probability—contain the basic facts and
skills of mathematics. They are the tools that open the door for mathematical thinking.
The first five chapters of this book, each based on one of these five Content Stan-
dards,are designed to spell out the specific skills that are taught to different age groups
in elementary schools. Each skill is clearly stated,and then a discussion clarifies what
is expected of a student who is mastering this skill and why it is important. This is fol-
lowed by a game,activity,discussion,or project that helps teach and give practice using
the skill.
The games, activities, discussions, and projects may involve a child and parent or
other adult, a small group of children, or a child working alone. Hopefully, you will
find that they not only improve your child’s mathematical ability,but are also fun and
rewarding.
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