Monday, April 22, 2013

Common Core Standards for Math--Making Math Approachable

Many students have difficulty with math. They find it a challenge to approach any type of math assignment or math lesson. Some of that difficulty stems from a negative attitude, so as a teacher you should suggest to students the advantages of being good at math (cold hard cash when they get older because of the great jobs that involve math) and how a change of attitude can help them to better.

The last thing you want to hear a student say is, "I'm terrible at math" or "I can't do math." If they are saying these things, talk about how that type of thinking will not help him/her do better in math. Talk to him/her about metacognitive skills regarding math, such as take problem solving one step at a time and when he/she begins a math assignment to be sure to look over the examples carefully so that math will be easier to understand.

Finally, talk about that feeling of satisfaction when you've solved a problem correctly or have gotten an "A" on a math test.

The Core Standards for Math leads you to a dead link (http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards/mathematics/introduction/standards-for-mathematical-practice) on the Common Core Standards webpage. The correct webpage is at http://www.corestandards.org/Math.