by Dad on Rocket Math, Spaceship Math, Strategies, Worksheets
Unfortunately, division isn’t just multiplication in reverse. Oh yeah, we tell them that and it flies for a while, but then one ugly left over spoils the fun. Remainders. You only get so far into division before this remainder thing pops up, so if you arm your kids with only the “reverse the multiplication” strategy, division quickly develops a reputation as the nightmare operator. We relied heavily on the idea that addition and subtraction had “fact families” and you could always reverse them, but that clean relationship just isn’t there for multiplication and division. I mean, what’s the corresponding multiplication fact for 5 / 2 = 2 r 1 ? 2.5 x 2 ? We don’t get closure here until we’ve introduced fractions and decimals… Perhaps division’s reputation as a monster is a bit deserved. Either way, this post describes the various sets of division worksheets on the site to help you introduce division and remainders successfully. Read the rest of this entry »
by Dad on General, Rocket Math, Spaceship Math, Worksheets
Dr. Donald Crawford paid a visit to DadsWorksheets.com last week and suggested perhaps renaming the worksheets posted here to avoid conflict with the commercial Rocket Math curriculum he has developed over at http://www.rocketmath.net. You can read the discussion at the bottom of the Spaceship Math Strategy post, but given that this is supposed to be a low-stress activity on my end, changing the names of the worksheets to address everyone’s concern was definitely easy.
Meanwhile, if you’re a teacher looking to purchase a full curriculum for Rocket Math, be sure to check out Dr. Crawford’s new web site at the link above.
Or, if you’re not interested in worksheets or rockets or curricula, and you’d rather just bounce through a very well designed on-line math quiz, check out what this other Dad did at http://www.Rocket-Math.com.
by Dad on Rocket Math
Just how hard will a kid work for some random bit of electronic widgetry? Say, one of the new shiny polychrome 4G iPods that His Steveness just showed off to us yesterday? It turns out, really hard. Especially when Engadget and everyone else starts leaking pictures of the brand new goods right before the deadline.
The oldest and I signed a contract a few weeks ago delineating exactly what she would need to do in order to score said gadget (we’re getting a little contract law education mixed in here, too.) To wit, the requirements included:
We set a goal of six weeks to get this all accomplished. This was definitely a stretch goal… A swing-for-the-fences, “Well, if you really want that you’re going to work hard for it” sort of task. I actually thought this might be the object lesson about over committing and not crossing the finish line, especially once school started and we hadn’t completed the last two items. Little did I realize, what was about to happen was a serious test of my ability to grade Rocket Math tests.
The stack of tests pictured here is 22mm high when compressed. A ream of the paper we use here is just over 50mm, so that would be around 220 pages. And if only that were all of them. That’s just the stack of tests from Saturday and Sunday. While that was definitely the big push before the deadline, there were at least that many in the previous weeks… Actually, I think I may have graded close to 600 pages of Rocket Math in the last month or so. Go ahead and quiz me on some basic subtraction. I dare you.
And yes, we’re headed for the Apple Store.
Thanks a lot, Steve.
by Dad on Parenting, Rocket Math, Strategies
Many grade schools now using various types of timed tests for basic arithmetic. This web site was originally created to provide practice worksheets for a time testing program used at a local school district. If your child’s school is using a similar program, these worksheets will provide several variations on the single practice sheet that typically comes home for each lesson.
The Rocket Math programs are typically divided into multiple levels usually identified by letter, where each level introduces a small number of basic facts. The problems on each level are built on the The tests are usually given daily, with each test lasting one minute. Practice on the problems is pretty critical to success, especially if your child isn’t one that works well under the pressure of the clock.
Read the rest of this entry »
