Learning times tables - The Joyful Way

"Times tables" is one of the most important tools for excellence in math. Knowledge and expertise in it gives lots of confidence in math to children. It takes quite a bit of persuasion to make the child do it, especially in the age of calculators. I feel we need to teach not just to learn times tables but also to teach them creative methods and games to learn them with fun. Just use this game for the 5 table - Buzz. Buzz is played only if at least 5 - 6 children participate. The coordinator ( teacher faces the children ) . Seats are arranged preferably in semi - circular manner. The teacher must be able to see and hear all the children. The game can begin with any child. The child has to speak out 1 , the second child 2 , the third child 3 and so on and so forth, the child who has to speak out the multiples of 5 i.e. all numbers ending with zero or 5 will not speak out the number( 5, 10 or 15) but will say the word Buzz and then the turn will go to the next child. If any non 5 or zero number child calls Buzz or the "Buzz" child calls out the number they are out of the game. Advanced version of the game one could also do the same thing with reversing the calling order of numbers like say begin with 50 or hundred and go backwards to call the numbers and reach 1. Readers of my blog please comment on the game and give suggestions to improve upon Buzz.You May use the same idea to learn other tables. But I suggest do it on a different day and also change the word from Buzz to say HO HO HI HI or something popular and easily memorable, fun and having some association with the table you have chosen.

MATH MYTHS

1. You can learn math only if you have "math gene". Its not everybody's cuppa tea!
2. Math is difficult to understand!
3. Math is for only Genuises!
4. If the left side of your brain isn't your strong , you'll never do well in math!
5. One has to put ten times the effort as compared to other subjects to excel in math!
6. Math has limited methods of teaching.
7. Math is not of much use for career building!

Mathematic

M is for metacognition : Children are to be taught not only the power of thinking, but also the power of awareness to notice their thinking and change it into desired direction. Nowhere it is more useful than in the case of Math. Many a times children take impulsive decisions while solving Math problems. Metacognitive thinking habits will make the child more responsive to math concepts and her clarity, memory about the concepts will also rise.
A is for the attitude that the child has towards math, depending upon the self talk about math. The self talk is usually generated by the child when influenced by peer talk and parents’ approach to math. The dislike, fear and demotivation will determine her progress in Math.
T is for the self talk referred to above – this has to be controlled and reoriented towards a positive direction. How to do it in itself a major task apart from the teaching of Math. Indeed, all the efforts of a sincere teacher, child and parent will go waste if the change in direction of thinking is not done in time and with determination.
H is for humor – use humor, also h is for higher expectations from the underperformer and underachievers.
T is for learning tools and techniques like times tables and recognise math patterns. To learn tools and techniques is equally important as compared to learning math.
E is for energise, exercise to do math work in a given period of time with focus, speed, accuracy and attention. This is to be ready to write for exams.
M is for motivation to do math. This has to inspired from the teacher and the parent with a system of rewards, tasks and raising self esteem.
A is for having a definite aim to learn a skill or understand a concept.
T is to understand the threats that stop the child to learn math. She must understand math.
I is for how the teacher makes the child interested in math stays interested and likes doing it. This is related to the H above and C below.
C is for using creativity to teach and solve math so that the experience becomes memorable.

Motivating Children For Math

To motivate the child for math is not an easy task. We usually assume that if we play a few interesting games or have fun while teaching math, give them a challenge and make it interesting the task is done. I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg we are touching, we need to do more. We need not just to play games, but also involve them in devising and designing the game. Then match the concept to be taught with the materials available to play the game or we will have to get some special materials - list it. To make the experience memorable we can use stories and humor - jokes, incidents etc. Involvement of all the children is desirable if we want consistency. We can involve children by asking them to get materials for the game and allot tasks according to the ability, likes etc.. After the game or the activity is over we can ask them to put it in their math journal in their own way. More on motivation and interest generation in coming posts.

Solving Word Problems

While solving word problems, suddenly the child forgets language. Is it due to math fear or maybe, dislike? It's a matter of research and debate, what I have observed is that does not relate to the concepts and lessons taught. Also there are certain techniques that can make word problems easy to solve. Steps for solving them:
1. Read the problem twice.
2. First identify 2 points - a) What is given ? b) What is to be found out?
3. Further questions: i ) what is the related topic. ii) What is the concept to be applied to solve it? iii) What are the steps to be done to solve it?
4. Most important - What confuses her and what is clear?

More on Math Journal

More benefits.: 1. It will improve your math understanding. 2. It can be used for future strategies.3. To remain focused on math improvement of your child. 4. Pleasant memories!5. Will give insight about your child's behaviour.

The Answer Syndrome

Getting the right answer and then finding it is a prime concern for all students. It is like expecting the Fruits of your Karma even before doing it. The need is to focus on the Karma - the process with an awareness of why, what step comes after one step is done. As Gita says be expert in the Karma and results shall follow. The nuts and bolts of math Karma are the understanding the concept, learning the process and then solving it. More on process, understanding and the hows in further posts.

My Journal Idea

The math journal can have : 1. Level of child's understanding and the academic level too. 2. Record of action taken. 3. List of new ideas, books, webs and other personal sources of improvement action to be taken. 4. Group members and activities. 5. Concept sheets - different concepts to be taught to the child.6. Progress chart 7. School teacher and counselors 's suggestions. 8. Child's view of these actions. 9 Math fact sheet 10. Other references 11. Math (liking) time table 10. What we need to do ourselves. I shall post more uses in next post.

Math Journal

We have lots of school reports, personal journal of the child, our journal etc.. Why maintain a separate journal? We can record the progress as far as our strategy goes - one reason to do it. Next it can also act as a good record for future references when we need it. Other notebooks, reports may change, places , hands etc. I feel maintaining a math journal is a good idea. But what to post in the journal? I shall discuss this in my next post.

Tracking Feelings

Most of the child's actions especially above 6 years are based on 2 considerations feelings and exploration. Explore and find what is the exact feeling for math - hatred, plain dislike, other external stimulus like effect of peer's "math talk". If you can define the feeling exactly, then next step is to locate the source and make a group of these sources- parents and peers. Now before forming the group refine the child's feeling to address it in a more intelligent way.So we have 4 steps : 1. Define a math negative feeling ( indentiification )2. Refine it 3. Form Group 4.Address it.

Practical Hints For Genarating Interest In Math

Thw basic idea being that the activities which you do together must be simple, easy to understand and fun. For this we shall need a few good books and interesting workable ideas. I will explain one of my simple ideas for numbers. Ask the child to make drawings in the shape of numbers of her favorite objects, animals, birds and insects, thenlet her color them. You can find lots of examples of these drawings made by children themselves on www.counton.org . extend the idea a bit and turn it into a competition for many friendly children or/and neighbors' children. Keep the excitement going. If you have visited this Blog, kindly tell other parents to visit and post ideas here. More tomorrow

Generating Interest In Math

The most important need for any child to proficiency in Math or any other area is to create interest. After getting her interested in math, more important is to sustain it. Consistency of efforts will only give you measurable result. I have observed that children whose parents are genuinely interested in her progress and also vigilant about the inputs which go into the child's mind , get excellent results. I am not talking about the emotional kind of care and doting parentage, but it is about no nonsense regular and intelligent interactive sessions with her. The recipe is to garnished with lots of love and kindness. For this it is necessary to determine the quality time you can be together.Then make a practical time table for it.

math is difficult

i observe we parents pass on our insecurities to our children. one of these is math dislike - sometimes almost a pathological hatred and fear for math. Basically it is an abstract subject so___. But somehow i find it interesting and also easy to teach. I have created this blog to address this problem and find solutions for all affected by it teachers, students etc. We can all post comments to improve on the situation and thereby make the child's life easier. however this is not the only objective - we could also make other subjects of the child easier. how, let's see what i post tomorrow.
sudhirbhatt