Myrla Mona November 29, 2020 Worksheet
As a parent, I’m very aware of what my own children are learning in school. For the most part, I’ve been happy with their progress, but as they rise in grade level, I’m starting to see more emphasis on a loose understanding of the concepts and less emphasis on skills–particularly skills with arithmetic of fractions. The main problem with what I see with my students and my own children is that kids are taught ”concepts” and are not taught skills–unless they’re lucky enough to have a teacher who knows better. Most particularly, children are not taught mastery of arithmetic with fractions. Unfortunately, virtually all of their future math education depends on being able to do fractional arithmetic.
Math worksheets rarely ask students to think critically or creatively. They usually present multiple examples of the same problem type with the hope of reinforcing a skill or procedure. They do not challenge students to use higher order thinking skills such as comparing, analyzing, deducing, and synthesizing. These skills are built through activities in which students discover concepts, explore ideas, test a hypothesis, solve a problem, and discuss their thinking with their peers. Exploring concepts and problems in many different ways builds interest and promotes critical thinking.
Thus, the math worksheets which you get for your kids should include interesting word problems that help them with the practical application of the lessons they learn. It should also present the same problem in a variety of ways to ensure that a child’s grasp of a subject is deeper and comprehensive. There are several standard exercises which train students to convert percentages, decimals and fractions. Converting percentage to decimals for example is actually as simple as moving the decimal point two places to the left and losing the percent sign ”%.” Thus 89% is equal to 0.89. Expressed in fraction, that would be 89/100. When you drill kids to do this often enough, they learn to do conversion almost instinctively.
The math worksheet is not only for the young children in kindergarten and early primary school; they are also used for tutoring high school and university students to keep the students’ math skills sharp. The sites that offer these worksheets have helped a lot and this resource is now a common thing to use for all kinds and levels of educators. The formats for the worksheets differ according to the level and content of the worksheets. For the young kids it is preferable to have the worksheet in large print, while the older students commonly use the small print ones that are simple and uncluttered.
Another problem with almost all worksheets is that they don’t prevent incorrect answers. Self-checking worksheets just let the student know they did something wrong–after the fact. I am a firm believer in the concept that, if at all possible, learning should be structured in small chunks in such a way that there is very little possibility for error. Worksheets often allow for mistakes to be made and then to be repeated many times. A mistake that gets practiced is extremely difficult to correct. This especially happens when worksheets are used as time fillers or baby sitters and the work isn’t really being supervised.
This issue of NOT practicing mistakes is extremely important. Parents shouldn’t give worksheets as busy work and teachers should only use them if you are going to have a non-math teacher substitute. White boards with supervision are always a better way to practice skills. If you need some time to do chores, your child will get much more benefit by helping you with the chores. And maybe you can work in a little discussion of numbers or counting while you do chores together.
Archive
Recent Post
Categories
Most Popular
Tag Cloud
8th grade expressions and equations worksheets elementary math problems with solutions school safety worksheets benchmark fractions worksheet create own worksheets fun worksheets for 5th grade nys math test math drills money 1st grade reading comprehension worksheets math addition tables first standard math worksheets math mammoth worksheets free printable division worksheets grade 3 get math answers answer to addition worksheet works division homework worksheet answers decimal practice 5th grade college algebra math solver touch math kindergartenLatest Review
Latest News
Recent Post
AboutContactCookie PolicyCopyrightPrivacy PolicyTerms of Use
© 2021 Zacksinvest. All rights reserved.