9 year old below average in maths. HELP

[blessedLah]

My daughter is 9 years old and currently struggling with maths. From talking to her you can see that her confidence has slipped and she does not like maths. I spoke to the teacher recently at parents evening and she said i should not worry because most of the kids in the class are below average but she expects them to meet their target by the end of the year. I am really worried because dd is almost going to high school as she is in year 5. Please help me , how best can i help her? Do i need to get her a tutor? Are there any resources i can use at home ? At this point i am open fir anything to boost her confidence and put back the fun in maths. I am really worried. HELP PLEASE

[Preminstreltension]

Dd got wobbly about maths in about Y2. She wasn't really secure in her number bonds and times tables and as those are the foundations for almost everything else they do in maths at this stage it was having a huge effect.

I would get her secure in those basics. We used Komodo which is an online service - DCs do ten mins a day. They like it as its online and they get rewards (from me) as they make progress. It's helped enormously.

[Preminstreltension]

Sorry meant to say DD is 9 now and still getting a lot out of Komodo.

[user789653241]

khanacademy.org/

This is American free website and have lots of tutorial video so you can learn how to do and practice what you learned on quizzes. Tutorial is very easy to understand and teach how to solve in details.

uk.ixl.com/

This is paid site but you can do up to 20 question a day for free.
This follows NC, and doesn't have tutorials, but if you make a mistake, it explains in details.

I would recommend both sites.

[user789653241]

sorry!

www.khanacademy.org/

[lostInTheWash]

That are lots of maths sites out there - some free and some you pay for.

If you know in there are particular areas she struggling with ?

We use mainly www.themathsfactor.com/ - £10 a month so much cheaper than a tutor. They use it most days it's boosted their confidence and they are all now more advanced than their peers in maths.

There are lots out there - worth quick look at www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/maths/ for general things.

khanacademy was worth a look - but mine did better with mathsfactor formula for some reason. Some allow a free trial - though I don't think maths factor currently do but others do - so you can get a feel for what might help.

[user789653241]

more free maths website:

www.maths-games.org/

www.mathgames.com/skills/

mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/category/22/most_popular

resources.oswego.org/games/

www.arcademics.com/

www.mathplayground.com/

[TeddTess]

before you go doing extra work, test her on

1. times tables , 0-12, inside and out, division facts etc. (eg 36/9=4 she should know off the top of her head if she knows her 4 or 9 times tables)
   
   
2. can she tell the time? including 24 hour clock
   
   these are the 2 areas that school relies on a LOT of home involvement. if they aren't really secure on times tables it holds them back a lot in yr4 onwards

[poppyfieldmum]

Like Preminstreltension we also use Komodo maths which has been great at building maths skills and confidence. I'd recommend it.

[annandale]

I'd encourage lots of card games at home too - Pontoon/Blackjack/21 is a good one because you have to constantly add up to 21. Any board game which uses 2 dice is great too.

This type of dartboard is really good but IMO if it's in her bedroom she's much less likely to use it. Have it downstairs and play it with her - great for subtraction?

[fallenangel14]

My dd was the same age when we hired a 1-1 maths tutor. It's made a real difference, mainly as the focus was that the tutor gave dd huge amounts of positive feedback to increase confidence. The tutor has been exceptionally good at this and has worked really hard on connecting with dd. There's laughter and jokes during the lesson and dd now ENJOYS it, is not scared of getting things 'wrong' and is steadily improving in ability. We tried ourselves all the maths sites and the positive feedback but somehow it took the tutor to really have any impact. It's been the best money we've spent but it's incredibly important to get the right person. Most tutors are competent in maths; some are better at connecting with kids than others. Do you know anyone who could recommend a tutor from personal experience of having used them?

[Ferguson]

The trouble is, in the earlier levels of Maths, children can do things just by 'following the rules', but without really UNDERSTANDING why things work a certain way. This is my standard information, but is for younger children. However, it may reinforce her understanding, and fill in any gaps:

Practical things are best for grasping number concepts - bricks, Lego, beads, counters, money, shapes, weights, measuring, cooking.

Do adding, taking away, multiplication (repeated addition), division (sharing), using REAL OBJECTS as just 'numbers' can be too abstract for some children.

Number Bonds of Ten forms the basis of much maths, so try to learn them. Using Lego or something similar, use a LOT of bricks (of just TWO colours, if you have enough) lay them out so the pattern can be seen of one colour INCREASING while the other colour DECREASES. Lay them down, or build up like steps.

So:
ten of one colour none of other
nine of one colour one of other
eight of one colour two of other
seven of one colour three of other
etc,
then of course, the sides are equal at 5 and 5; after which the colours 'swap over' as to increasing/decreasing.

To learn TABLES, do them in groups that have a relationship, thus:

x2, x4, x8

x3, x6, x12

5 and 10 are easy

7 and 9 are rather harder.

Starting with TWO times TABLE, I always say: "Imagine the class is lining up in pairs; each child will have a partner, if there is an EVEN number in the class. If one child is left without a partner, then the number is ODD, because an odd one is left out."

Use Lego bricks again, lay them out in a column of 2 wide to learn 2x table. Go half way down the column, and move half the bricks up, so that now the column is 4 bricks wide. That gives the start of 4x table.

Then do similar things with 3x and 6x.

With 5x, try and count in 'fives', and notice the relationship with 'ten' - they will alternate, ending in 5 then 10.

It is important to try and UNDERSTAND the relationships between numbers, and not just learn them 'by rote'.

An inexpensive solar powered calculator (no battery to run out!) can help learn tables by 'repeated addition'. So: enter 2+2 and press = to give 4. KEEP PRESSING = and it should add on 2 each time, giving 2 times table.

There are good web sites, which can be fun to use :

//www.ictgames.com/

www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/page/default.asp?title=Woodlands%20Junior%20School&pid=1

(On the Woodlands site, go to the "Resources" area.)

[blessedLah]

Thank you so much people. Am taking note of all your suggestions.