Parents evening

[brainmush]

My daughter age 7, struggles with maths and really not enjoying maths last year at school. Have been practicing regularly at home for 10 mins most nights for some time and has really helped. Also got squeebles apps recommended on previous posts which have been great. She now does 2,3,4,5,6 and 10 times tables well and is doing ok in other times tables. Is able to manage division and quite happy and confident to do this at home. Can tell the time quite well now too. Felt as if we had really turned a corner. Went to parents night last week and told she find times tables hard and I really need to try and help her consolidate 2, 3 and 4 table at home. Also told my daughter really struggles with telling the time. Really upset as felt things were going well and was as if teacher was describing a different child. Don't know what to do now. Don't know why there seems to be a huge difference with work at home and abilities at school. Don't know how to approach teacher as no doubt I will sound really pushy.

Sorry you feel deflated now, but I don't understand why you didn't say "Oh, I'm a bit surprised to hear that, as we've been working on them at home and she seems to have mastered...... etc" - you then could have had a chat about whether you and the teacher are both thinking the same thing when you talk about 'knowing' tables, etc.
Sometimes parents will say a child "knows" their tables if they can sing song their way through
1 two is two,
2 twos are 4,
3 twos are 6, etc.

but the teacher might be looking for an instant answer to

3 twos?
7 twos?
How many twos in 8? etc.,etc.

Perhaps you could arrange to have another chat - explain you were taken a bit by surprise the other night, and you'd just like a five minute chat about the maths again when it's convenient. I'm sure the teacher will meet with you and you can say what you said in your opening post and they can say what they see inclass, and you can work out together where to go from there

Fully support what backforgood said.

I don't see how you would sound pushy - if you were saying she knew her 16 times tables and you wanted them to be challenging her more then THAT would be pushy but to speak to them and say that since parents evening you have been thinking about it and are trying to work out why the work she does at home isn't reflected in her classwork. They will see that as a concerned and supportive parent.

Thanks. I did mention to the teacher at parents evening that i was surprised by her comments as I had been practicing maths at home and my daughter seemed to have mastered the times tables etc... I got no response other than its important to consolidate the basics such as the 2,3 and 4 tables before moving in to anything else. I will take your advice and try and speak to the teacher and see why the work she does at home isn't reflected in her class work.

Hi -

I will give below some standard advice I always provide in these kind of situations. It won't all be relevant, but just use anything that seems like it could help:

QUOTE:

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 work, 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, 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'.

I am sorry it seems complicated trying to explain these concepts, but using Lego or counters should make understanding easier.

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.resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/index.html

UNQUOTE

The basis of multiplication is repeated addition. If a child understands this, then they will see that 2x4 isn't the same as 4x2, even though the total is the same. Practical, practical, practical is the message. Putting bricks (whatever) into groups. So, get 2 sets of 8 bricks, arrange one set as 4 groups with 2 in each and arrange the other set into 2 groups with 4 in each. They look different, they are different, but the total is the same.
The steps is a great idea.

I would also agree with BackforGood . Go back and chat with the teacher over whether your understanding is the same as hers.

My DD2 is quite good these days with verbal times tables at random. But the other day for homework she had a times tables grid to complete and couldn't do it for toffee.

So verbal and written skills may be different. Telling the time, maybe she is also looking for 'how many minutes until' answers etc. Again my DD2 can tell the time, and know it is eg 10 to 9. But ask her how long until 9 o'clock and she can't do it!

I would expect a child to see that 4x2 is absolutely the same as 2x4 and to use whichever was easiest for them to get the answer. Multiplication is commutative and it is wrong to say that those two things are not the same. They are exactly the same, just as 4+2 is the same as 2+4. However, I agree with the other points made. It may be that even if your daughter has learnt some multiplication facts, she isn't able to apply them in verbal problems and that might be where you need to work on things.