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Math at Home Guides | CMC - California Mathematics Council

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Math at Home Guides | CMC - California Mathematics Council

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A great place for parents to start supporting their children's mathematics learning is Math at Home, short parent guides to mathematics education. These booklets were written expressly for parents and guardians of Pre-K and K-12th grade children. Each booklet contains straight-forward information, practical suggestions, and resources for families who wish to better understand the importance of mathematics and the role they can play in helping children learn this critical subject.

The Math at Home parent guides to mathematics education are available in editions for Pre-K or K-12, and in either English or Spanish.
Click on any of the Math at Home cover images below to view or download individual articles from that parent booklet.
To download a FREE complete copy of that Math at Home parent guide click on the links below the cover.

The California Mathematics Council grants permission to share these files with parents, guardians, and educators-all other uses require expressed permission.

K12MathatHomeEnglish K12MathatHomeSpanish PreKMathatHomeEnglish PreKMathatHomeSpanish

Math at Home parent guides to mathematics education low cost paper booklets are available for purchase. To order multiples of 30 or 100 booklets for use in your school or organization, click here: ORDER MATH at HOME

The California Mathematics Council's Professional Development Committee has created a PowerPoint presentation that can be used at parent meeting to introduce the CMC Early Learning Math at Home booklet, resources, and lessons. To download a copy of either PowerPoint presentation, click on either of the links below. The PowerPoint presentation will automatically be downloaded to your computer.

The Early Learning PowerPoint and talking points are designed for groups to use when introducing the Early Learning document. The audience can be parents alone or parents with their children.

El PowerPoint Aprendizaje Temprano y puntos de discusión están diseñados para que grupos lo utilizamos a la hora de introducir el documento de Aprendizaje Temprano. La audiencia puede ser padres solos o padres con sus hijos.

There are also four short support movies that can be used along with these presentations as additional demonstrations of parents doing mathematics with their young children in meaningful ways. You can download one or more of the videos from these links:
Agenda: Early Learning Math at Home for Parents & Guardians Agenda: Families with Children Early Learning Math at Home
Below are two suggested workshop agendas for anyone who wishes to use the Early Learning Math at Home resources in sessions with parents and guardians. The first agenda is suggested for work with groups of adults only. The second agenda includes suggestions for sessions that include parents and their children.

CMC hopes you will use these tools in your work with English and Spanish speaking parents so they might in turn work with their children to help them to enjoy, appreciate, and understand mathematics.

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A great place for parents to start supporting their children's mathematics learning is Math at Home, short parent guides to mathematics education. These booklets were written expressly for parents and guardians of Pre-K and K-12th grade children.

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Math Books & Resources . Education | PBS Parents

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Math Books & Resources . Education | PBS Parents

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This selection of books provides more ways to nurture your child's early math development. In addition to math books directed at parents, the list includes books with math concepts that parents and children can read and talk about together.

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Bedtime Math – We inspire kids to love math so they embrace and excel at it.

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How Parents Can Help Their Kids Learn Their Multiplication Facts – Math Fireworks

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How Parents Can Help Their Kids Learn Their Multiplication Facts – Math Fireworks

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Whenever I'm together with my sister (shout out to Lizzie!) and her fourth grader at the holidays, the conversation inevitably turns to memorizing multiplication facts. Students learn so many cool and amazing mathematical ideas in the elementary grades, but multiplication facts seem to always be on students' and parents' minds.

Learning multiplication facts is often a stressful process for elementary students. It is often the time when many kids first become anxious about math. As students become stressed, it can lead to arguments between children and their parents, and no one wants that!

It does not have to be this way. Learning multiplication facts is a wonderful opportunity for parents to have mathematical conversations with their kids! This post will help you learn how to help your child learn their facts faster and how to be happier doing it.

Math Fact Fluency

Many different researchers have developed different models for how children's brain learn multiplication facts. While some of them are complicated, it is worth giving you a quick overview here. In general, there are three levels of understanding:

Level 0 - The student cannot generate an answer to a fact. This implies that they do not yet understand how multiplication works.

Level 1 - The student can generate an answer to a fact using a laborious procedure, usually skip-counting. They know that multiplication can be thought of as repeated addition, so they use this strategy to get the solution. For example, if asked 5 x 4, they may count by fives four times (5, 10, 15, 20). This allows them to solve facts, but is slow and challenging, especially for larger facts.

Level 2 - The student can generate an answer to a fact using more efficient strategies. At this level, facts still take more than 2 seconds to solve because students are using a strategy to figure out their answer. Their strategies will often use already memorized facts. For example, they may solve 6 x 7 by using 5 x 7 -- "5 x 7 = 35 and then I need to add one more seven, so 42".

Level 3 - The student has the answer memorized. They can recall the fact in less than two seconds and are not doing any math in their heads. They are simply retrieving a fact that they have memorized.

Level 2 Vs. Level 3

It is easy to see that level 1 will be much too slow to be a successful level of knowledge, but many parents and children wonder why level 2 is not sufficient. Research shows that students who reach level 3 have more success in future math classes. So, we want all math students to reach level 3 for the 0 to 10 facts.

So, why is memorization better? In other words, why aren't the strategies in level 1 sufficient? It comes down to the brain. When students at level 2 use multiplication facts while studying other concepts, they need to dedicate more of their brain power to answering math facts.

Take for example, learning how to multiply multi-digit numbers (ex: 123 x 45). If you multiply these two numbers, you are recalling six facts. Students who have their math facts memorized (level 3) can dedicate all of their thinking to understanding and learning the algorithm. Students at level 2 have to learn and understand the algorithm while ALSO solving the multiplication facts using their strategies. Having level 3 knowledge of math facts likely makes learning future ideas easier.

Wait...Don't Count Out Level 2!!!

Many people hear this and come to the conclusion that they should aim right for level 3. They pull out the flashcards and the Mad Minutes and start drilling away. But, this is not the way to help!

Level 2 is a crucial stage of development for students. It is in this stage where students develop their understanding of how multiplication works. Even though level 3 is a goal, trying to skip level 2 will weaken your child's understanding of mathematics. Because, it is at this level where students learn strategies that are useful beyond just memorizing multiplication facts.

As parents, the best thing you can do to help your child learn their multiplication facts is to have conversations about the strategies you can use to solve a multiplication fact. Through these conversations you will bolster your child's understanding of mathematics and help them move up the levels of understanding introduced above. So, here are the strategies you and your child can employ while solving multiplication facts:

Zeroes, Ones, Twos, Fives, and Tens - By the time your child starts studying multiplication, they will (hopefully) have a solid understanding of addition and have reached level 3 for most addition facts. This knowledge can serve as the foundation for the first learning multiplication. Multiplying by 0, 1, 2, 5, and 10 are the easiest facts to learn. For example, multiplying by 2 is the same as adding a number to itself. Students should already know this from their addition facts. Starting with these facts gives your child easy reference points to help with other facts. This is not technically a strategy, but these facts often serve as anchors for learning other facts.

Turn-around Facts - Multiplication is commutative. This means that you can rearrange the order of the factors and get the same result. For example, 5 x 4 = 20 and 4 x 5 = 20. This knowledge nearly halves the number of facts children need to know.

Doubling - Facts can be found by doubling known facts. For example, 4 x 7 can be solved by knowing 2 x 7 = 14 and then doubling 14. This strategy can be used anytime one of the factors is divisible by 2. That's a lot!

Skip-Counting Up - You can often skip-count up from a known fact to find an unknown one. This strategy is often used for 6s and 7s. For example, I know 5 x 8 is 40, and I can use this to figure out 6 x 8 by counting up one more eight from 40. This is an extremely important strategy because it introduces students to the Distributive Property of Multiplication Over Addition. You and your child don't need to be thinking of the Distributive Property when you use this strategy, but know that you are giving them experience with an idea that is crucial in Algebra. Here's what those steps look like more formally:

6 x 8

(5 + 1) x 8

5 x 8 + 1 x 8

40 + 8

48

Skip-Counting Down - If you can skip-count up, you can also skip-count down. This is a great strategy for 4s and 9s since you can count down from 5s and 10s respectively. For example, I can figure out 9 x 7 by calculating 10 x 7 - 7. This also gives students experience using distribution.

Halve - If you or your child is a good doubler, then you may also like using a halving strategy. This is great for 5s if you know your 10s, 3s if you know your 6s, etc. Example: I know that 6 x 8 = 48, so halving 48 helps me figure out that 3 x 6 is 24.

Combining Other Strategies - As you get experience with these strategies, you may find yourself using multiple strategies together. For example, if I wanted to figure out 23 x 7 I might use doubling to figure out 20 x 7 (7 x 10 x 2 = 2 x 70 = 140) and then skip-count up three more sevens (140 + 3 x 7 = 140 + 21 = 161).

If that feels overwhelming it is likely because you have not had much experience thinking through multiplication strategies. It is not caused by a difference in math ability. After teaching for nine years, I have no reason to believe that this level of thinking is out of reach for any child or adult.

Notice that ALL of these strategies work for facts beyond ten too. That's the power of level 2: these strategies extend beyond the zero to ten facts we expect our students to memorize. Spending a lot of time developing the level 2 strategies helps children become better mathematicians while also learning their facts.

Helping Your Child Reach Level 3 Through Discussions

Alright, now that we have the background knowledge we can figure out exactly how to help. The key idea here is that you want to move your child through level 2 and into level 3 not skip level 3. To accomplish this, you will want to have conversations with your child about facts. Here is an outline for how you might discuss 6 x 8:

"Do you remember the product of 6 x 8?" - Begin by asking them to try to recall a fact. This pushes them towards level 3. But, if they can't recall it that's okay!
"I don't remember"
"Can you figure it out using a strategy?" - Since they don't have the fact memorized, it is time for them to try to use a strategy to figure it out. You may have to wait a LONG time. That's okay. We already know they do not have the fact memorized, so give them as much time as they need to think through their strategy.

"How did you figure that out?" - Notice that I didn't say "wrong." They will figure out their mistake when they discuss their strategy.

"I know that 5 x 8 is 40 so I added one more 8. And, that is 48" - They may not even notice that their answer changed. That's okay here. I am focused on the logic of their strategy.

"That's an awesome strategy! So 6 x 8 is 48." - Notice that I praised their strategy since that is what I want them to focus on.

"Are there any other strategies you could use figure out 6 x 8?" - By asking for more strategies, I will reinforce the fact and also help them develop a wider variety of strategies. Again, I'll need to wait very patiently here.
"Well, I know that 6 x 10 is 60. So I could count backwards two more 6s. [long pause] 54 [long pause] 48. 6 x 8 = 48" "That's another cool strategy! Are there anymore that work?"
"[Long pause] I can't think of another one"

"I thought of one! I know that 3 x 8 is 24. Since 6 is double 3, I can double 24 to figure out 6 x 8. That's how I figured out 6 x 8 = 48" - If there is an obvious strategy they missed, you should introduce your child to it. You might ask them to explain the strategy back to you if they like it. Hopefully, your child is being exposed to multiple strategies in their classroom too.

"That's a cool strategy. You are the awesomest parent ever." - You probably won't get this response but you deserve it!

"Now that we have talked about strategies, can you remember 6 x 8 without using a strategy?" - Now that I've helped solidify level 2 understanding, I want to give them practice recalling the fact to practice for level 3.

Conclusion

It takes TONS of these conversations to move children through level 2 to level 3 knowledge of their multiplication facts. Trust your instincts on where to begin. If your child is really struggling to learn their facts, start with facts you know they can do well and repeat those facts often.

Make sure your first few discussions are successful. And, never get frustrated. If they cannot do what you are asking them, then they cannot do it. If they can't skip-count up when multiplying by six, then talk about skip-counting up for their three facts.

Most importantly, enjoy these conversations with your child. It is amazing to watch children develop and then apply new strategies as they learn. You will be astonished at how sophisticated their thinking becomes after just a few conversations!

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How Parents Can Help Their Kids Learn Their Multiplication Facts

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Whenever I'm together with my sister (shout out to Lizzie!) and her fourth grader at the holidays, the conversation inevitably turns to memorizing multiplication facts. Students learn so many cool and amazing mathematical ideas in the elementary grades, but multiplication facts seem to always be on students' and parents' minds.

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Math Munch | A Weekly Digest of the Mathematical Internet

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Math Munch | A Weekly Digest of the Mathematical Internet

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This website is full of math that you might like.

We hope that you'll have fun exploring it all. On the right of your screen, you'll find a couple of ways to get started. You can go to a random post, or choose a topic, or check out one our most popular posts.

Over the course of five years, we wrote more than 150 short articles that gathered up all kinds of math-y tidbits from around the internet. Stories, games, videos, puzzles, art, interviews, and lots more.

Interested in one of those categories? You can find some collections in the menu at the top of the page.

We made Math Munch because we wanted to share these great math-y finds with our students. Thanks to the power of the internet, we also get to share them with lots of other people, too. Including you!

We aren't writing new posts anymore, but we still love math and the mathematical internet. If you find some math you love on Math Munch, or if you find some cool math tidbit that you just have to share with someone, we'd be glad to hear from you. Because yeah: we definitely know that feeling.

Better yet: pay it forward and tell someone else about your new favorite munch of math.

Thanks for visiting. Have fun exploring and sharing. Bon appetit!

Anna, Justin, and Paul

mathmunchteam@gmail.com

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This website is full of math that you might like. We hope that you'll have fun exploring it all. On the right of your screen, you'll find a couple of ways to get started. You can go to a random post, or choose a topic, or check out one our most popular posts.

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Explore these patterns with your students and watch their natural tendencies to see patterns morph into powerful algebraic thinking and reasoning. It’s an ideal routine to foster mathematical practice #7 - look for and make use of structure.

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ESTIMATION 180 is a place for both students and teachers to enjoy making sense of math and develop their number sense together.

Pick from over 200 visual estimation tasks that invite all your students to be part of rich math conversations and learning.

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How do I get started? 1 USE THE FREE MATH LESSONS Estimation 180 Tasks 3-Act Tasks 2 SUBSCRIBE Email Newsletter Podcast

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Would You Rather...? | ASKING STUDENTS TO CHOOSE THEIR OWN PATH AND JUSTIFY IT

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Would You Rather...? | ASKING STUDENTS TO CHOOSE THEIR OWN PATH AND JUSTIFY IT

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Would You Rather Math - ASKING STUDENTS TO CHOOSE A PATH AND JUSTIFY IT WITH MATH

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Teachers, sign up for my mini-workshop to learn about how to implement Would You Rather Math into your classroom routines. We will explore some sentence frames, what happens when things don't go as planned, how to use the prompts in a remote learning setting, and much more. See you there!

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Talking Math with Your Kids | Because children enjoy using their minds

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Talking Math with Your Kids | Because children enjoy using their minds

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Parents know that we need to read 20 minutes a day with our kids.

But teaching math to your kids doesn't have to be intimidating. It can be fun. Just as children say goodnight to the moon, they can say hello to numbers, shapes and measurement.

Talking Math with Your Kids provides ideas and products that get children and caregivers talking about math with creativity and joy.

Whether you're reading books on the couch, cooking dinner, running errands, or scheduling your day, opportunities for math talk abound.

This website collects research about, and examples of, math talk with children. Each post offers suggestions for adapting the examples for your own children, interests, and lives.

Enjoy and let me know how those conversations are going in your home. Use the contact form to ask questions, send feedback or to send along a conversation for highlighting on this site.
Thanks for reading. Read more about Christopher

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Parents know that we need to read 20 minutes a day with our kids. But teaching math to your kids doesn't have to be intimidating. It can be fun. Just as children say goodnight to the moon, they can say hello to numbers, shapes and measurement.

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with special thanks to Christopher Danielson and his Which One Doesn’t Belong - A Shapes Book.

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with special thanks to Christopher Danielson and his Which One Doesn’t Belong - A Shapes Book.

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Find *FREE* ways to have math-based conversations at home, on the road, or anywhere. From math specialists to parents around the world, a new idea will be shared each week.