Please help me understand DDs homework?

[ForMashGetSmash]

She's in year 2

I over-complicate things....here is what it says exactly

The Great Fire of London was in 1666

use the numbers 1666 to find:

The highest number by adding them together

The lowest number by taking them away

can you find any other number stories?

I obviously understand the adding part...but the taking away confuses me...

Taking them away from what? DO I take the relt from the addition..19...and add 9 and 1 together? Or am I missing something?

Sorry for my dimness! I got a U in GCSE maths and still find it frightening...I have not asked DD if SHE understand it yet as I don't' want her to share my fear of maths...so I want to understand it before I try to help her complete it alone.

I agree with NoahAndTheWhale, there is nothing anyone here can help you with as none of us can see what is wanted/expected either.

One thing that occurs to me - it sounded from previous posts that you'd not actually discussed it yet. If that's the case, it may be that they've done a similar sort of thing in class and she has a better idea than you what its about. So if she asks for help, first check what they were doing in maths today, or if they've worked on 'number stories' (blech, can't stand that sort of thing!) before.

I don't think that there is anything wrong with saying, "Gosh, that is quite confusing, I am not quite sure what the teacher wants you to do. It is not clear. Shall we ask your teacher tomorrow".

Not that it is difficult, but that you are not sure what the teacher means by the question.

I would not have understood that either.

It is ok for the DC to know that their parents do not know all the answers. I often say to DD that I am not good in maths and we should ask her father.

Well, I'm afraid if this were me I would have to send a note in to the teacher "Sorry, dd did not understand the question and neither did I". Because I don't. Which isn't very helpful, I'm afraid. But I really think the fault lies with teacher for not being clearer rather than with you/us/your dd for not understanding maths. So maybe it isn't such a bad idea if you let the teacher know you didn't understand. You can tell her it was beyond MUMSNET .

Sounds to me like a homework that is not supposed to have a 'right' answer but allows for a child to explore the numbers and the maths in their own way.

If this is the case, then whatever your dd does will be right within her understanding.

maybe it is just supposed to show that playing with numbers can be fun

(not sure if i am convinced that is possible though!)

This is just a crap piece of homework, end of. The teacher hasn't thought the piece through and bothered to realise it doesn't make sense. I got given crap maths worksheets at that age which made no sense, and the lack of thought that had obviously gone into them makes me cross even now.

Is her teacher not a very confident maths teacher? If so this needs to be bought up.

As people have said, you would have grounds to complain if it wasn't readable grammatically. Why should you put up with shoddy maths homework?

Ok...have chilled...asked DD what she thought and she said what Activate said (sorry activate...for being rude...I cant stress how stressed maths makes me!)

I guess this is a lesson to me. Leave DD to it!

A number story is usually a whole equation ie.x+y=z but can't see how that applies here. So you have to rearrange the digits 1666 into sums :-
Highest number would be 666+1 (= 667)
Lowest 16-6-6 (= 4) or perhaps 66-61 (=5)
Others perhaps 61+6+6

Otherwise she could rearrange all the digits into highest number (6661) and lowest (1666)

Homework in year 2??????

Glad this story had a happy(ish) ending ForMash.

I was another with a stats degree who was going to say the question makes no sense unless you've already had the idea explained to you.

Hope all of us more confident at maths who have said that it's not you have given you a bit of reassurance?

I think the point of the homework is probably her recognising high numbers of more than 2 digits?

Glad you've relaxed, it's not worth it year 2 is still very little yet!

Nope, I don't understand it either- sorry!

I've had something similar with dd2 (when she was in P2) and I just wrote a note in her homework book "Sorry- we are not really sure what you are looking for here- could you possibly explain?"

Oh- I see you have sussed it- well done your dd! I am still none the wiser!!

It sounds like the nonsense maths questions set by Dame Slap from the Faraway tree story!

'If there are 24 cherries on a tree and some blackbirds land on the tree, how many will be left' etc.

apology accepted

I wasn't being patronising by the way, I was honestly trying to be helpful - and I do think you should get hold of that book I linked to before