Please help! I can't work out DC's year 2 Maths homework

[ValentinCrimble]

Duh....it's called a "ladder game2 and it's a sheet of paper with 2 columns with lines on each...there is one column for each player. The instructions say this

Roll the dice and add up the total. Put the total at the bottom of the ladder and roll again. Keep going until yo get to 20. Then your partner does the same. The winner is the person who reaches 20 with the least number of tries.

What I dont get is the bit which says "Roll the dice and add up the "total" What total? A roll of the dice results in one number...not a total.

Do I just roll the dice and say I get 4....then I put 4 on one line...then carry on writing my roll numbers on each line till I reach 20? What if I reach a higher number than 20? Then there will not be enough lines for another go....

it seems like a stupid game and badly explained..or am I just thick?

[Scootergrrrl]

Are you supposed to have two dice?

[ValentinCrimble]

Well that;s it Scootergirl...who knows? I dont even have one bloody dice....had to make one!

[pointydog]

2 dice

[Goblinchild]

One die, two dice.
The instructions weren't clear enough.

[vbusymum1]

Yes, sounds like you need two dice to me as well - maybe the teacher is a stickler for language and has used "dice" as the plural of the word "die" to indicate that more than one die is needed

[pointydog]

You coud get a pack of cards and use the 1-6 ones.

[vbusymum1]

x-posts with goblin, but anyway I wouldn't worry too much about the number of die, just give your DD some pairs of numbers. Its the adding up that's important not how you get the numbers themselves.

You won't be the only parent without dice in the house.

[Goblinchild]

We get scolded if we don't.
Like when we call something a sum that isn't an addition.
No no, it's a calculation

[prh47bridge]

I think it means you roll one dice, add it on to the previous total (which will be 0 the first time) and keep going until you get to 20 or more.

So if the first person rolls 4, 3, 1, 5, 3, 2, 5 they have reached 20 (actually 23) in 7 goes. If the second person then rolls 4, 6, 3, 4, 5 they have reached 20 (actually 22) in 5 goes so the second person wins.

[mrz]

You can't find a total of one die what about homes that are diceless ?

[Goblinchild]

Find a cube (brick, box whatever) and use sticky labels.
You can roll one die twice and pretend that you had two.

[Pumpkinbummum]

prh47bridge thats what I thought
Our teacher sends home the die as well so no getting out of it!

[amidaiwish]

when dd1 (y2) gets homework like that we just make up our own rules. i guess it is vague because it doesn't really matter! (you are worrying too much )

[ValentinCrimble]

prh47bride

But then nobody actually reaches 20....they reach 23 or 22 or whatever....is it me or are the instructions rubbish?

[ShowOfHands]

"Find a cube (brick, box whatever) and use sticky labels."

I have visions of you encouraging your child to throw a brick about in the pursuit of mathematical capabilities.

I don't own any dice. I'm dreading dd going to school. I can't keep track of sellotape, dice are going to be a bloody nightmare.

[mrz]

As a Y2 teacher I would advice - making it up

[Goblinchild]

We still have little wooden cubes that mine played with over a decade ago.
Did you think I meant a real brick? They're cuboids and don't roll equally.
Wait until GCSE Art projects loom. Sellotape and labels will pale into insignificance.

[bigfootbeliever]

What is the point of this homework though?

What is it teaching?

[pointydog]

It is about quick recall of number bonds.

It just means first to reach 20 or any number over 20.

[pointydog]

Have you got playing cards?

Have you got bits of paper and a pen and you can make cards numbered 1-6?

[ValentinCrimble]

Thanks guys....we'll just muddle through...I'm less stressy now!

[prh47bridge]

They might reach exactly 20 - 4, 3, 6, 5, 2 for example. But I would take "reaching 20" as meaning "get to a total of 20 or more". However, I agree with Mrz - make it up! My sons often come home with homework including games with vague rules that don't seem to quite work, so I just make up something which seems broadly in keeping.

[Jux]

You don't have to 'add up the total' the first time you throw the die. Every other time you throw the die, you will have to add up the total. So, first throw is 4, write it down. Next throw is 3, add up the total - 7. Write it down. Next throw is 6, add up the total - 13. Write it down.

You can decide it you have to get exactly 20, or go anything that takes you over 20 will count.

Or you can make two dice, and then you would have to add up the total the first time.

It's a good way of practising addition, getting familiar with numbers etc, and can be quite fun.

[ValentinCrimble]

Thanks Jux....it seems an odd way of phrasing it...i suspect my mind just cannot draw comclusions which seem obvious to others...it caused me no end of bother in school!