Math can be a difficult subject for many students. Most children loose interest in mathematics, simply because they think it's too hard. Parents and teachers may find it difficult to motivate their students to complete their math assignments. Here are some suggestions to help your students in solving their math problems and overcome their fears:
1. Encourage Them!
You can improve your children's learning ability by providing them a positive environment. Many teachers often forget to encourage the efforts of their students. Children should be appreciated when they correctly solve their math problems. Teachers should mark their assignments, leniently. They are advised to keep their tone and attitude positive, since children can easily pick up signs of negativity.
2. Follow up on Homework
Teachers must ensure that children understand their homework. If the students are facing problems then the teachers should properly explain the assignment to them. Children will feel easy once they know what they have to do. Teachers can further assist by guiding them on what they should do the difficult parts. They should be able to judge the students response: do they understood the problem or not? Children must be provided further assistance if they need it. Parents need to monitor the progress of their children to make sure that they are doing fine. They should encourage them for their good performance.
3. Demonstrate the use of Math
Parents can also use real life examples to teach math to their children. School going children can learn a lot from every day examples. Simply ask them to calculate the money you have to pay for tickets, next time you go out to the movies. Try multiplying the number of cars of two different colors.
4. Real Life Math
Explain to your children how they can use math to solve their problems. They should understand that math is not about using simple arithmetic skills like addition and subtraction; it is much more than that. Children can use their mathematics skills to solve every day problems. They can find out how many pieces of pizza you need to cut so that it can be shared in your family. Just go beyond the daily assignments and let your children explore the real world problems to improve their mathematics. This will show them the true value of math in their lives.
5. Get them to talk!
Encourage your kids to talk. Tell your child to solve their math problems by talking about the correct steps. This will allow you to monitor what he or she is thinking. You can detect the problem areas while your child is talking his way through the steps.
6. Everybody loves money.
You should teach your children money skills. Your kids can use fractions and percentages to find out how much savings they have made on a particular purchase. For example if your children went to a movie that costs $30 and they have saved $10, so in terms of fractions they have saved 1/3 of the amount or 33%
7. Telling Time
Teach your children how to tell the accurate time. Use digital and analog clocks for this purpose. You can talk with them about, seconds, minutes, hours and days.
8. Make Math Games
Learning mathematics should be a fun activity for your children. You can combine math with various games to make it interesting for your children. Other effective methods of teaching involve use of flash cards that test the child's math skills to help him get better in mathematics.
9. Use Computers
You can increase your child's learning speed by using computers and various educational software. Today's children are much more familiar with computers than their parents were at the same age. There are many computer games that involve the use of math skills. Senior students may be interested to learn about spreadsheets and calendars to improve their mathematics.
10. Talk to Teachers
Parents and Teachers should communicate with each other on a frequent basis. They should assist the students in learning the proper mathematics skills. Parents can play an essential role in improving their children's performance by regularly communicating with the teachers. They can work with the teachers to solve their children's problems.
Math Worksheets Center is home to over 8,000 highly quality printable K-12 math worksheets, lessons, quizzes, and homework. See it now: http://www.mathworksheetscenter.com
