Any opinions on the “Everyday Math” they are teaching now?
We recently switched our daughter from Catholic school to the public school and this is the math they teach. It’s not anything I’m familiar with, all the rules I ever learned are no longer there, I fear one day I will have to help her with her homework and we will both be lost.
Re: "Everyday Math"
Chrissy,
My kids have the everyday math program (it’s a spiraling program) it is more of a conceptual approach rather than a rote, drill approach. My kids are excelling with this program but it is also reinforced with drills and basic computation programs , this is were our school feels the program falls short. It is also a very language based program. I can tell you when I first saw it, it seemed scary. Now, that I am used to it, it makes perfect sense to me. I like that they introduce all concepts algebra, geometery ect staring in first grade rather than hitting them say in 7th grade with those concepts for the first time.
Hope this helps.
Terry
Re: "Everyday Math"
Chrissy,
Have you recieved the “Home Links” from your child’s teacher? The authors of Every Day math realize that the approach is foriegn to many parents and have included them to help the parents.
As a pre-service elementary teacher I can tell you that the Everyday Math program is very highly regarded. It meets the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards. Districts that are using it have report increased test scores. But what I think is more important is that these same districts have noticed an increase in students confidence in doing math. It makes sense to them and they look forward to math time.
As a parent of two elementary children I can tell you that my one child loves the program. Our school district is in the process of implmenting Everyday Math, so our oldest child has used a more traditional method. The oldest child wishes she could use it too.
After comparing this program to others on the market, I believe it to be one of the more comprehensive programs. Children need to experience math and then be introduced to the algorithims. This program allows students to do just that. For example, in third grade students are introduced to the concept of pi when they study area. This is done by simply measuring products around the home and school. Relationships are established, that is all. But the seeds of prior knowledge have been planted so that when the students approach pi in another grade they can make the connections and have a deeper understanding of the subject.
Re: "Everyday Math"
You probably will not be as lost as you think- it is amazing how it comes back:)
The downside of Everyday Math is the spiral sequence mentioned in a previous post- if you have a child with LD issues concepts and operations are not in front of them long enough for understanding to be attained. Sometimes they come back around quickly enough but I have found that it was necessary to do some serious accommodations for my LD students.
On the other hand and consistant with the other posts- my non-ld son liked the program a lot. You do need to do extra work on efficiency in math facts- beyond what the designers provided- but fo teachers who need the cookbook to teach math it is a better than aqverage cookbook.
Robin
Re: "Everyday Math"
I really appreciate everyone’s comments. Our small, new catholic school is considering taking this on and the parents have a lot of concerns. I have older LD kids who continue to struggle in math because of similar programs. Their math facts are not solid. I am concerned about the spiraling in that my 2nd grader does not have the time to really practice and use the concept before they move on to something else. What kind of supplementation did everyone use? I really resent having to “teach” at home. Should we use flash cards and drill sheets?
Things to do at home
Take a look at Victoria’s repost under the thread “Memorizing Addition and Subtraction Facts” for good info about learning the math facts. Math fact practice doesn’t have to be tedious- keep it short and simple and it can be fun. My younger son likes to practice facts using a deck of cards from ace to 10. If we are practicing plus threes, I turn over a card (say 8) and say “8+3=…” at which point he chimes in “11”. We can go through a deck 40 cards in just a few minutes- plenty of practice for one day. My older son really enjoyed using “Wrap Ups”- each card has one set of math facts (plus 1’s, plus 2’s, etc.), and you wrap a string around the card from the question to the answer. He used to do these in the car.
Practicing math facts at home is probably necessary with any math program- even when I was in third grade the teacher suggested that parents work with students on math facts, because it does take a lot of practice to really get them down. On the other hand, if your child is having trouble grasping one concept before it’s time to go on to something new, then I’d say the program doesn’t match her needs, and you probably want to work with the teacher to figure out how to meet her needs. Remember, the goal isn’t to make your child meet the requirements of the math program but to adjust the math program to meet the needs of your child so that she really learns this stuff.
Jean
Give me some examples.