This ultimate parents' guide to elementary school math features projects, games, and activities children and parents can do together to increase their understanding of basic math concepts. Fun activities such as mapping a child's bedroom for practice in measurements or keeping a diary of numeric items like vacation mileage and expenses reinforce the math skills outlined in each lesson. Using the standards issued by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics as a foundation, this book covers both content and process standards for areas such as algebra, geometry, measurement, problem solving, and reasoning/proofs. It also includes a glossary of math terms and dozens of suggestions for additional children's reading to further math understanding.
Measurement is the most widely used area of mathematics. It permeates our everyday
existence. How our lives would change if we did not measure time! Could we get
through the day? We measure distance and length during our drive to work and in
many of the tasks we do both on the job and at home. We monitor weight through daily
activities such as buying produce at the market, mailing a package, or the ever-present
quest to lose a few pounds. How often do you check the weather to find out the predicted
temperature for the following day so that you can make or alter plans? Do you
cook? If so, you use the measurements for volume and capacity with each recipe. Hobbies,
arts and crafts, sports—the list goes on and on for the many ways that our lives
are affected by measurement. You probably take measurement for granted and never
stop to think of its importance in your life. It’s just there.
Skills and Activities for Grades Pre-Kindergarten to 2
In the early grades, children should recognize the characteristics of length, volume, weight, area, and time.
Young children begin to learn about the different properties and characteristics of the
various measurement units by looking at, touching, and comparing objects. They decide which stack has more by looking at them and seeing which is larger. They decide which
object is heavier by lifting two objects and feeling the difference. To see which toy truck
is longer, young children line them up and compare. Adults help with this process of
recognizing measurement characteristics each time they say, “That is a large book” or,
“That ribbon is too short.”
As a parent, you should also initiate the concept of time in activities that are related
to your child. Simply pointing out the time on the clock in relation to what your child
is doing is the first step—for example, “Look, it is twelve o’ clock. It’s time to eat lunch.”
When reading bedtime stories, a discussion of the time of year, season, or month that
is in the story will help your child develop time concepts. Finding the sequence (what
happened first, next, and last) of that same story is good for teaching both measurement
concepts and reading comprehension.
These are all examples of children learning through exposure—through the physical
manipulation of objects and the comparison of those objects. Most important is the
mathematical language and vocabulary that parents and, later, teachers provide in conjunction
with that exposure.
Introduction
How to Use this Book
CONTENT STANDARDS
1. Numbers and Operations
2. Algebra
3. Geometry
4. Measurement
5. Data Analysis and Probability
PROCESS STANDARDS
6. Problem Solving
7. Reasoning and Proof
8. Communication
9. Connections
10. Representations
SUMMING IT UP
Appendix
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
