What if I want more calculation than what I see in The Math Map?
Traditional math curricula emphasize calculations for practical and pedagogical reasons.
Historically, students needed to be able to calculate in order to navigate life. Pedagogically, calculations are easier to teach, to scale, and to assess in a classroom setting. Thus, a student’s math success depended on their speed and accuracy of calculation and practicing calculations took primacy in texts, assignments, and tests.
As we examine math classically, we recognize that the practice of mathematics depends on a firm foundation of grammar. The grammar of math includes calculation facts as well as laws, definitions, and properties that may or may not include numbers. As students build their knowledge base, they begin to discover patterns and build understanding that enables them to apply their grammar to more complex computations, along with discovering truths about numbers, shapes, and dimensions.
The Math Map interweaves opportunities to practice pattern finding with opportunities to practice computation. Because of the broader, classical focus, students may not practice computations as much as parents may want or as much as the student needs only by using the lesson pages. Rather than filling the pages with rows of similar problems, The Math Map lesson pages are designed to guide families as they grow in pattern recognition and understanding. For families who want additional computation practice we recommend tools such as
- Flashcards: All operations beyond 9 + 9 and 9 X 9 depend on knowing the computation facts. To facilitate rapid mental calculation, Classical Conversations Addition and Multiplication Flashcards provide practice through 15 + 15 and 15 X15. Additional Classical Conversations Flashcards, including Fractions, Exponents, and Roots & Logarithms, provide additional opportunities to memorize key computation facts.
- Quick Flip Arithmetic: A deck of cards provides an infinite number of calculations for a student to practice. Quick Flip Arithmetic gives parents ideas for games that can be played using a standard deck of cards. The games can be easily adapted to different domains and goals of parents. For example, flip 8 cards to create an addition or multiplication problem with 4 digits in each number.
- Worksheets: For families who prefer to give their children a sheet of problems, families can create custom worksheets. For example, if a parent wants to have their children practice long division, they can find a product (i.e. 35 x 123 = 4305) and write it as a division problem for their students to practice. Creating a custom worksheet allows a parent to choose the facts that their students most need to practice.
- Life Applications: Involving your students in shopping, cooking, building, measuring, budgeting and other aspects of math in life will not only give them opportunities to practice calculation but also to see how math is interwoven throughout our daily lives.
The Math Map is designed to provide a smorgasbord of resources to enable parents to lead the math education in their homes. The lesson pages and Careful Calculations pages practice math computation in the context of the broader grammar of mathematics. Resources such as flashcards and Quick Flip Arithmetic are designed to provide families with endless and customizable ways to practice computation. Families are invited to use these resources as they best meet the needs of their children.
Dr. Kirsty Gilpin and Leigh Bortins discussed this on one of our book club calls. Here is the link if you want more!
May 13 - Summer BookClub 1D - Calculating Beyond Lesson Pages: