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So the other day my daughter was telling me that the kids in 6th-grade math (she skipped out of it) were being assigned songs to memorize for fractions (as part of their math grade). Also, she said the kids were making flashcards for relationships (e.g. 5/10 = 1/2). Is this really typical? After wasting years participating in Common Core (or Common Core like mathematics), is this a sign of their lack of number sense that they really need to memorize relationships like this?
Just a different method. Flash cards are almost as old as God. The song would be an example of a mnemonic device such as used for the musical scale, Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge, the Thirty days has September............ for remembering how many days in a month. There's also one for that using a closed fist.
From my limited observation, in this area, a significant percentage of the parents are sending their kids to afterschool/weekend/private tutors/etc. for math instruction. The kids that appear to actually understand the material have a parent available that is able to, and actually, helps the child.
My kids are at Asian majority schools that are "highly ranked", so I'm wondering if the brute force memorization is adapting to those cultures, or really a turn for the worse in American education. Realistically, how are kids supposed to go all the way through the high school curriculum if they have to memorize lower-level Pre-Algebra?
I remember, even for my oldest daughter's preschool (Asian run), the trying tried multiple curricula to teach reading (Bob's Books, Hooked On Phonics, etc. in parallel), but for the kids that didn't get it, they basically used brute force memorization of stories to give the parents the impression that the kids were learning how to read.
So the other day my daughter was telling me that the kids in 6th-grade math (she skipped out of it) were being assigned songs to memorize for fractions (as part of their math grade). Also, she said the kids were making flashcards for relationships (e.g. 5/10 = 1/2). Is this really typical? After wasting years participating in Common Core (or Common Core like mathematics), is this a sign of their lack of number sense that they really need to memorize relationships like this?
I hope it isn't typical.
Maybe your daughter (or you) misunderstood, and the flashcards were actually for fraction-decimal equivalence? 1/2 = 0.5? I still don't think it's a good way to do it, but it would be better than 1/2 = 5/10, and there are some kids who might learn the common ones that way. Requiring the class to do it would be a waste of time.
Giving math credit for memorizing songs? The teacher may be trying to pad grades to help students pass, or to "even the playing field" for those who don't do well. Or the teacher doesn't "get" math and is assigning something s(he) is more comfortable with, or is desperate because the kids are clueless and s(he) can't get them to understand, or wants to include students more so is responding to a student suggestion, . . .
None of those are good reasons. Singing a song in class? Fine. Requiring memorization of a song for math credit? Foolish.
From my limited observation, in this area, a significant percentage of the parents are sending their kids to afterschool/weekend/private tutors/etc. for math instruction. The kids that appear to actually understand the material have a parent available that is able to, and actually, helps the child.
This was the case in a high-achieving district I lived near. The school set high standards, and the parents hired tutors so their kids could meet those standards. Of course, the schools got the credit. The parents also benefited, though, as property values soared.
So the other day my daughter was telling me that the kids in 6th-grade math (she skipped out of it) were being assigned songs to memorize for fractions (as part of their math grade). Also, she said the kids were making flashcards for relationships (e.g. 5/10 = 1/2). Is this really typical? After wasting years participating in Common Core (or Common Core like mathematics), is this a sign of their lack of number sense that they really need to memorize relationships like this?
When I was in grammar school in the 1950's we had to memorize the times tables from 2 to 12. There was no other way to do it. It sounds like a good policy to memorize some fractional equivalents. Probably be helful to lead up to the multiplication of fractions to know a few of the answers up front through memorization.
So the other day my daughter was telling me that the kids in 6th-grade math (she skipped out of it) were being assigned songs to memorize for fractions (as part of their math grade). Also, she said the kids were making flashcards for relationships (e.g. 5/10 = 1/2). Is this really typical? After wasting years participating in Common Core (or Common Core like mathematics), is this a sign of their lack of number sense that they really need to memorize relationships like this?
They should have learned them in 3rd and 4th grade. Students need to be able to find equivalent fractions with ease to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators.
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