Child is in 5th grade they are doing ADD4 in school and we are doing Saxon grade 3 at home. What I want to know is what makes up math reasoning skills so I know what my child needs to work on.
WIAT math numerical operations last year SS79 this year SS86
math reasoning last year SS84 this year SS83
Re: what is math reasoning?
On Cloud Nine (from Lindamood Bell, see ttp://www.lindamoodbell.com/)
has some great ideas for building math reasoning, seeing relationships, etc. for those not quite as gifted as Victoria. It isn’t necessary to get the whole kit, just the book). I had many aha moments myself as I have been usign it.
—des
Re: what is math reasoning?
Now for a simple answer :-)
Math reasoning used to be called “word problems” as opposed to pure math computation. What happens is that they throw in extraneous information in the question and the child must be able to extract the pertinent information in order to solve the problem.
I like On Cloud None and would also recommend “It’s Elementary” by EPS (books of word problems and strategies to solve them).
Janis
Well, big question but I’ll try to give a quick summary.
Math reasoning involves using those higher-order thinking skills of analysis and synthesis and creativity and seeing novel relationships, all applied to mathematical situations.
The question is what the student does when faced with a *novel* problem or a *complex multi-step* problem.
Since this is what happens to us daily in the real world, this is the GOOD stuff in math, the really important skill to learn.
Some effective strategies include:
Summarize and omit irrelevant data
Break it down into smaller parts
Work backwards - if I knew X I could get the answer; If I knew Y I could know X; I know Z and can use that to find Y — got it!
Put yourself into the problem and ask what you would do
Diagram it
Look at it from a different point of view, both metaphorically and literally - turn the paper around or over
Use concrete objects or sketches of concrete objects
Compare it to other problems you know how to do
Do another problem and come back after your subconscious has had some time to chew on it
Write down *something* sensible on every problem. If you know a formula that applies to part, like for example area of a triangle, write it down and *label* it. You may get partial credit for the part answer. More importantly, once you have those facts summarized and those known things down, y you my think of another step and another.