Supporting Math Skills At Home for Grades 4 – 8

September 28, 2020

In this resource from the Institute for Education Sciences, families and teachers will find activities they can use to support mathematical problem solving at home.

The three tips described in detail for use at home are:

1. Help children get started and reflect on word problems
2. Help children use visual representations
3. Encourage using multiple problem-solving approaches

Here is an example related to reflecting on word problems:

“Have your child read through the problem three times using prompts, which is often referred to as the “Three Reads” process:

You can ask your child to read the problem once and answer what the problem is about.
You can ask your child to read the problem again and this time ask what the problem is asking them to find out.
Finally, you can ask your child to read the problem again and tell you what information in the problem is relevant to solve the problem. Sometimes word problems include numbers and other information that is irrelevant or not needed to solve the problem so taking time to reflect on what is relevant or needed to solve the problem can head off potential mistakes.”

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