Help with maths

[Anushka]

Can anyone offer advice on extra help we can give to dd who is (and always has) struggled with maths. She's currently in year 9 so feel we need to help before gcses start in earnest next year.

I'm not sure if we ought to go down a tutor route as I feel that she really doesn't enjoy the subject, to put her through an hour extra each week may be too much, and be very expensive.

My gut instinct is to almost go back to basics with some ks3 books we can work our way through to see where the "problem" is. I don't mind maths but don't always know ho she's even taught so often confuse her, so feels book (not really a revision guide one though).

Other than maths she does really well and is working at a high level in most other subjects and always puts in plenty of effort, just not getting the results she deserves in maths.

I get mixed messages from school - yes she's puts in brilliant effort, is a good likeable student in class, but hasn't made as much progress this year as she needed to (my words not theirs but you get the gist). We are happy with everything she does, but not sure if we should have intervened before now.

I'd go down the tutor route. The fact that she doesn't like maths and you feel mean subjecting her to an hour a week of something she dislikes is tough. Better an hour a week now to get the basics secure than failing and having to do a whole year of maths to get a 'C'.

Do you have an iPad?

If so, I strongly recommend you download ALL of the maths wise apps.

There is one app each for Grade D, Grade C, Grade B, grade A and Grade A*

I have a friend who is sitting gcse maths at the moment and has been using these apps as part if his revision - so could be a good starting point for your DC perhaps working through the D and upwards.

MathsWatch

Not a teacher, and not got a teenager yet, so this may be way off, but can you make maths fun - make a recipe, and half it / double it, play board games which involve maths (monopoly has money and large numbers etc).

I guess it's also dependant on what she's struggling with as to what she needs to do!

As an aside, I was reading what yr 9 kids should be able to do and saw this

use index notation and simple instances of index laws (know, for example, that 22 x 23 = 25 and 26 ÷ 22 = 24)

Can anyone explain, as it makes no sense to me!

My dd struggled from time to time with maths, although once she grasped the concept was fairly secure but sometimes just didn't get it. Fortunately I was a bit of a maths geek at school so rather than going down the tutor route I decided to help her myself. I think I shocked both of us by how much I remembered from school. Like you I was worried about confusing her, but in actual fact often if something is explained in a different way, it helps. My dd frequently found that I was able to explain things in a way that she understood, also she felt better asking me questions rather than her teacher.

I didn't really do much more than support her with her homework (which she did get a lot of) and then revision, but it worked! She got an A and shocked her teacher.

You need some different sized digits. Should read
22 x 23 =2^5

Ie 4x8=32

Etc

Thank-you Valentine. That makes perfect sense - the original website has lots the superscripts as well.

Thank you all, elbourt we do have an iPad so I'll download them and give them a go over summer and if this doesn't help we'll try the tutor route titchy. Crazycarol great advice perhaps I've been holding back my help worried it'll confuse, I have recently tried algebra with her and she got the way I was showing her (didn't know there was another way).

My DS is in year 8 and maths is his weakest subject. Last term his maths teacher told me at parents' evening he was 29th out of 29 in his class (he's pretty good at all other subjects). I think this shocked him and he agreed to go to a maths tutor, he went for an hour and a half every two weeks. He's just had his end of year exams and his maths result was well above the class average. Tutor was money very well spent.

What level is she working at?

Your not the first to say that to me gloryhunter I might start asking around for local recommendations.

Does the school subscribe to www.mymaths.co.uk? It has online lessons and homework and is a very good resource.

Not sure about mymaths marcopront I think they have maths link or something but I'm going to email her teacher and ask for some help over the holidays. The last test she got a 5b noblegiraffe only one mark off a 5a which was where she was before she had extra booster lessons (interestingly enough she got an answer write in her workings and then wrote it down wrong at the end, but dd the teacher almost said tough?) But she was forecast a 6 .

If she is a 5a at the end of Y9, then she is going to find it difficult to get a C at GCSE. Statistically, most students on a level 5 don't get a C, the majority of those who got a 6 (and that would be more likely with a higher 6) do.

I would suggest getting a tutor, if you can afford it, as this would probably be the most effective way of making progress. Self-study (e.g. using mymaths) isn't usually great for a student that is struggling in maths as they need someone to break things down for them.
It's unfortunate that she doesn't like the subject, but it's probably not a good idea to risk leaving it later.

Great so unless I spend £25 a week (from research the average hourly private tutor rate) so about £1300 over the next year or two there's no hope. Luckily she goes to a (usually) focused school and results are usually good so I'll speak to them and see if the an recommend anything/anyone.

If she was having booster lessons but hasn't actually been boosted by them, it would definitely be worth talking to her maths teacher to identify where the problems are so you (plus tutor?) can work on them at home. I would also talk to your DD and see what she thinks the problem is - does she realise if she carries on as she is she may not get a C, and how important that is?

How are her times tables? Often students at that level don't have instant recall of their tables and it holds them back all the time, from fractions to algebra, just making everything that bit more difficult. If that is a problem, you can start working on those straight away, and it will make a difference.

Her times tables are ok noble giraffe, mainly because her memory is good, but it's one thing being able to recite and one being able to understand them. Please don't misunderstand she is very focused and wants to get it and often does with patience, but then looses confidence. Out of interest dh failed his o level maths 5 times (he passed it with a lot of hard work a night school - if I managed to help him I'm sure I can help her). The frustrating thing is she'll often give the right answer straight away then change her mind if I ask her how she got the answer!

This is a really good book - it explains everything really clearly:

www.amazon.co.uk/Help-Your-Kids-With-Maths/dp/1405322462/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370642273&sr=8-1&keywords=carol+vorderman+maths+books

I think she does an on'line maths tutor thing too

Thanks soontobeslendergirl I've ordered it and we'll give it a go, even if it doesn't help dd1 it might come in handy for dd2. I see some of the reviews say some of he phrasing/teaching is a bit old school, so I'll bear this in mind, but you never know something might click or at least whirr.

It's actually very well laid out and colourful so doesn't look really heavy and it covers the basics really well. I hope it helps.

Ah... Reciting times tables actually isn't knowing them. The primary curriculum requires children to know their tables by the end of year 4. In my class this is having instant recall or being able to deduce them quickly. Ie if I know five fives are 25 then I know six fives are 30 and four fives are 20. They shouldn't have to start at the begining of the tables each time. They also need to know their division facts which isn't hard if they have grasped the inverse nature of division and multiplication. Tables aren't really about memory but understanding!
If the school can't give you booster sessions, I would suggest that a tutor is likely to be of more help than just revision apps or books. Sometimes children can have a particular gap in their mathematical knowledge that unless you understand how the teaching and learning of mathematical consepts works, can be hard for the average layman to spot and address unsupported. Not trying to do down your own maths skills but as my schools numeracy coordinator I spend a lot of time assessing where these gaps are in childrens knowledge.
Hope you get the help you need!

I'm going to be a bit controversial here and say that knowing your times tables is a help in Maths but it isn't actually essential.

I'm a grown woman who still struggles with times tables (also struggle looking things up alphabetically too) :(. I am however really good at Maths as it is more of a problem solving subject than strictly a numeracy one. I got an A band one (over 95%) in my O grade Maths but got a B in Arithmetic which is supposedly the easier subject.

My son is very similar to the point at primary that he would be in tears trying to complete a number grid but has just got a Silver award in the UK Junior Maths Challenge.

I bought the Carol Vorderman book when he was struggling with his tables and I was looking to the future and wanting to refresh my own Maths skills in order to support him, but actually we never had to use it with him as as soon as the work was not based more on Arithmetic, he came into his own and zoomed ahead.

OP, your daughter may be struggling more with the problem solving elements rather than the actual number stuff if that makes sense. So, boosting her ability to look at the task and deciding what it is they want her do is probably more important than actually getting the calculation right iyswim?

But numeracy is more important than problem-solving if you're hoping for a C at GCSE. The Foundation paper doesn't contain anything like the sort of problems in the maths challenge.

I'm in the Scottish system and Maths & Arithmetic were, and I think still are, treated separately. I thought it was the same everywhere.

..and I got the impression from the OP that it was more to do with being able to select and use the right maths technique rather than numeracy per se.