math story problems

I can only commiserate.

Whether it’s story problems or the concept of subtraction, or just about any of the other concepts my students wrestle with, I have yet to discover instructional materials (software or otherwise) that are instructional. Let’s face it, it’s a major challenge — the materials can’t see the confused look on the student’s face :-)

Write me the grant, I’ll put together a team, we’ll have it for you in a year…

Take a look at the touchmath programs. They are programs that are visually based. They have one for story problems. My son’s school purchased it for him and he is grabbing the concept and running with it.

Good luck :lol:

You should try the DOTMATH for kids system.
http://dotmath.tripod.com/
You can only get a FUN BOOK from the DOTMATH club library. You can not buy this book. The library will only lend it to you. You will be amazed at how well this system works.

How does dotmath address comprehension issues? Or, should we just flag this as a blatant ad and let it go? (I’d also recommend fixing up the rather strained attempt at the English language on the home page.)

I’d recommend for the long haul working on making math soemthign that you think about naturally - Marilyn Burns and… Peggy Kaye have some excellent materials for this.

And please, do NOT teach “key words”. This is a method of getting maybe 50 to 50 percent correct without understanding. You might pass a level or two but then you have set yourself up for a realy bad failure later.

Dear Sue J, webmastress:
You said:
How does dotmath address comprehension issues? Or, should we just flag this
as a blatant ad and let it go? (I’d also recommend fixing up the rather strained
attempt at the English language on the home page.)
I’d recommend for the long haul working on making math soemthign that you think
about naturally - Marilyn Burns and… Peggy Kaye have some excellent materials
for this.
Owen:
The “DOTMATH” system and “THE FUN BOOK” modules are about comprehension.
The “DOTMATH” system helps children understand what the number symbols mean
and how to use them. It makes addition and subtraction easy to understand. The child
learns multiplication and division in a way that is natural and fun. There is not space
here to teach the DOTMATH system or explain how it works and that is not the
purpose of this site. That is the purpose of my site and THE FUN BOOK

You ask if this is a “blatant ad.” No, it is not an ad! I responded to mlhatley’s
request for information for math help. This is not an advertisement to sell a book.
I think I made that very clear in my post. You cannot buy this book as it is NOT for sell.
You did not say anything about the *”touchmath”* blatant ad in the post by Connie.
They are the ones selling books and things for a profit. They are a business for profit
therefore Connie’s post is a “blatant ad” that claims how good that product is. There is
just as much evidence that product is not good. In fact, I think all of their posts should
be removed because they are nothing more than free business advertisements to sell
a product for a profit.

The DOTMATH club will lend you “THE FUN BOOK”. Send me your
snail mail address and I will send you a book from the club library. It does
not cost you anything to try the book. When you have tried it, you send it back to
the library so others can try it. This is not much different from your local public library.
This is called sharing not business. I am retired and do not make money from this.
This is not a business. It is a group of like minded people who want to share with
each other their success story. This is just one of the many things that makes a club
different from a business.

Your comment about my attempt at the English language on the home page has a
negative tone to it. I do not re-act to negative personal attacks. I try to act in a positive
way with communication, understanding and comprehension. I keep my sentences
short and to the point because not every one has a masters degree. I made the site for
everyone and I keep it simple because my site is for everyone. I am very limited with
the site, because it is free, so I do what I can with what I have to work with. The main
purpose of the site is to get people to email me if they are interested in learning more
about my system.

Thank you for your questions. I hope I have been able to answer your questions in
a way that is satisfactory. I know that you must be a good person with good intentions
or you would not be on this site helping those that are struggling with learning.
I believe that you have a good heart and have genuine questions and comments. You
recommended Marilyn Burns but did not say how to find her material.

Owen

I’m sorry the post was taken as an attack.

I tend to ask those kinds of questions when somebody has *only* posted about their product, whether it’s a for-profit product or not. While I did come on strong, those are *questions* - I didn’t say “this is clearly a blatant ad.” I asked the question.

You didn’t answer the question; just said there isn’t enough space to explain - it’s just “done in a fun and natural way.”

Our students have often been taught in “fun and natural” ways that were anything but fun and natural to them. Our students learn differently. Specifically, they have difficulty making that transition from the symbols to the concrete ideas they stand for.

It sounds like you have had a lot of success with your method… please, please keep it up!

However, I am not going to apologize for sounding negative about a site that is rife with sloppy misspellings (” treasue of knowledge and wisdom h”…”I have heard compliants from many people…” - at that point I stopped reading) and choppy, strained language. I’ve had my share on my site… but I correct them, and don’t consider people’s corrections to be personal attacks.

Marilyn Burns’ materials are available at most bookstores or from Amazon.com (they’re books… I forgot to mention that :-))

I haven’t used this but I hear it comes highly recommended:

Word Problems Made Easy

http://www.oci-sems.com/bookstore/prod_word_prob_orderform.asp

I have heard the Mastering Math Facts materials are great, too. I would order them but I am only teaching reading this year. You don’t have to order the training tapes, by the way. I think the manuals are scripted so can be used without the training

Janis