Publication date:
08 September 2016Length of book:
128 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781475821840
Parents are social factors in children’s lives that can positively influence math achievement; and one does not need a degree in math to provide support! What one needs is a guidebook filled with good questions to pose, tips for supporting math thinking and general attitudes about math, and an “insider’s view” into what math teaching and learning looks like in today’s classrooms.
This book serves as that guidebook, and its author invites parents to use it while making sense of math with children. Parents and children are encouraged to share and celebrate multiple ways of solving math examples, rather than debate over the better approach.
Chapter 1 includes a description about how and why math teaching has changed through the years. The big math ideas taught through the grades are outlined in Chapter 2. Chapters 3 through 5 offer detailed descriptions about how big math ideas develop in Grades Kindergarten through 2, 3 through 5, and 6 through 8, respectively. In conclusion, Chapter 6 offers tasks that provide additional entry points for engaging in conversation about math at home.
This book serves as that guidebook, and its author invites parents to use it while making sense of math with children. Parents and children are encouraged to share and celebrate multiple ways of solving math examples, rather than debate over the better approach.
Chapter 1 includes a description about how and why math teaching has changed through the years. The big math ideas taught through the grades are outlined in Chapter 2. Chapters 3 through 5 offer detailed descriptions about how big math ideas develop in Grades Kindergarten through 2, 3 through 5, and 6 through 8, respectively. In conclusion, Chapter 6 offers tasks that provide additional entry points for engaging in conversation about math at home.
The Common Core style of mathematics instruction, which puts an emphasis on problem solving and critical-thinking skills, can be difficult for parents raised on rote memorization to grasp. Though Mistretta’s parent-focused guide to K–8 mathematics doesn’t specifically mention Common Core, it’s hovering in the background as she outlines standard curriculum basics, presenting sample problems as well as activities parents can use to demonstrate the everyday uses and real-life applications of mathematics. Mistretta begins with the 'big ideas' that guide mathematics instruction, followed by chapters focusing on smaller groups of grade levels (K–2, 3–5, 6–8) that go into detail about specific topics taught in each grade. Each section includes sample classroom scenes, including a problem; the steps the teacher would use to guide the students toward a solution; and practical actions parents can take to reinforce what their children are learning. Parents who find their children’s math homework baffling will appreciate Mistretta’s clear explanations of what’s going on with this new way of teaching and learning—and they may find that it makes more sense than they thought.