Are some students destined to struggle with mathematics because they’re inherently “not good at math?” According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and Sylvan Learning, the answer is no. A study from NCTM shows that everyone can succeed at math.
Parents can help their children master math and dispel the notion that math is difficult by “talking math” with children as they use it in everyday activities whether it be shopping, cooking or dining out. The math experts at Sylvan Learning believe that by combining traditional math drills and memorization of math facts and formulas with real-life examples and activities, math becomes more approachable and math discovery becomes fun. Using games and activities is a great way to encourage math discovery and enhance basic skills.
Sylvan Learning, the leading provider of tutoring to students of all ages and skill levels, offers tips and ideas to help your children have fun and become successful at solving math problems:
1. Play popular board games that require basic math skills. Chutes and Ladders® and RackO® develop number sense. “24” and Yahtzee® help computation speed and accuracy. Problem solving skills are developed through games like TriOminos® and Connect Four®.
2. Review previously learned math concepts before tackling new assignments. Starting with familiar concepts helps build your child’s retention and confidence.
3. Ask your child’s math teacher for a schedule of math topics. Take time to develop two projects or exercises per week that will reinforce what your child is learning in class.
4. Work with your child to solve math problems using multiple methods. This will help your child develop a fuller understanding of the computation concepts.
5. Provide pictorial examples of math concepts. Draw or collect pictures of animals, objects or people to show addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and fractions.
6. If your child receives an allowance, use it to formulate mathematical problems and teach him about saving. For older children, relate percentage problems to their allowance.
7. Allow your child to plan the next family trip. Help her compute miles, cost of gas and the expenses incurred for food and hotels.
8. Don’t let problems with math linger. Since math builds on previously learned concepts, it is essential to identify and address problems early so they don’t compound (to use a math term).
9. Assemble puzzles with your child. Puzzles help children learn spatial and visual organization. These are the basic lessons of geometry.
10. A deck of cards can be a valuable math tool. Card games begin to teach the lesson of probability and reinforce addition and subtraction memorization for children learning basic math facts.
11. Dice are helpful for younger children to practice number facts to six. If they are stumped, they can count the dots to find the sum.
12. Relate math to your child’s favorite sport. Keeping score is a math exercise! Ask him to calculate the number of points needed for his favorite team to win. Encourage him to create multiple point combinations to reach that score.
13. Play car games like “guess my number.” This will reinforce logic skills with children of all ages.
14. Dominoes are a great game for children of all ages. Smaller children can use them to recognize similar quantities while older children can explore the concepts of probability.
15. Encourage your child to do math aloud and to explain the series of steps used to solve the problem.
16. Follow your child’s progress through her math book, tests and homework.
17. Use Sylvan Learning’s online Math Activity Booklet to help sustain and renew children’s interests in math learning and discovery. Visit the “Parent Resources” area of www.SylvanLearning.com and download or print 30 days of math writing topics, trivia, questions and puzzles.
Sylvan Learning Directors and teachers from Flemington, New Jersey dish on the latest educational trends and what you can do to help your child achieve academic success!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
It’s Not So Gr8 When Email Slang Slips Into Students’ Schoolwork, Teacher Survey Says
Millions of children (and adults!) use language like this to chat with friends, make weekend plans and stay in touch with out-of-town relatives via email and Instant Messaging (IM). As students head back to school, it is important that this informal writing style of shortened words, improper grammar, lack of punctuation and use of “emoticons,” such as smiley faces, does not follow them back into the classroom.
According to a survey conducted by Sylvan Learning, 91% of teachers nationwide say they do not accept the use of this informal writing style in their students’ assignments.
Parents should talk to their children about using different styles of language to communicate with different audiences, as adults do in work and home environments. Just as students would talk to an adult at school differently than to a friend at the beach, they also need to remember to adjust their writing style. Formal writing for the classroom must be grammatically correct, with full words and proper sentence structure. Slang and shortcuts are commonplace in email and Instant Messaging, but not acceptable in schoolwork.”
Email and IM style of writing isn’t completely bad, since it does encourage students to write more often. In fact, more than three quarters (76%) of teachers surveyed agree that children can benefit from email and IM as a learning opportunity. When crafting emails, children are challenged to carefully choose their words, keep it simple and use relatively few words to convey tone and meaning appropriately. The popularity of Internet writing is also helping children see writing as a fun activity that encourages creative writing, and not just something they “have to do.”
What Parents Need to Know
Parents will soon notice an increasing demand for children to express themselves more effectively in writing. For example, more states are testing writing skills on proficiency exams. College entrance exams, such as the SAT exam, includes a writing section that requires students to write a short essay that reflects their mastery of core reading and language skills.
To do well on these important exams, students need to know how to write clear, well-organized essays in the short time allotted. Parents can help children develop an understanding of the writing process by modeling. Think about a writing project, develop a brief outline and rewrite drafts. By showing children that writing is a multi-step process and not always instantaneous, parents can help their children make the shift to an academic style of writing easier.
What Parents Can Do
Parents can make the most of their children’s interest in email and other computer writing by helping them to avoid using an informal style of writing too often. Show children that writing can be more than a means of communicating with another person by introducing them to online journaling or Web sites that publish children’s poems, letters, editorials, essays or stories. Remember that a healthy combination of both styles can provide the best writing experience for children.
To help children boost their effective writing skills, the experts at Sylvan Learning offer parents the following tips to avoid IM and email style language making its way into schoolwork:
• Talk to children about using different writing styles to communicate with different audiences. Describe the importance of personalizing messages and why it’s important that students know their audience. While it’s okay to close a letter with “C ya” to a friend in an IM, it is not okay to include this slang in homework assignments. Remind them that formality is required in school.
• Have fun with writing. Provide children with enjoyable ways to practice their writing. Involve them with writing grocery lists, thank you notes, dates on calendars and messages. Or, play games like Blurt!®, TriBond® and MadGab® that help build language and vocabulary skills.
• Review schoolwork for IM and email style language. Encourage children to write properly and take the time to carefully review assignments several times before submitting them to the teacher. Review their homework to make sure they aren’t using shortcuts or slang.
• Talk with children to establish ground rules for using IM and email. Work with children to develop a plan for using IM and email to ensure other responsibilities such as completing homework and chores are met before going online to chat with friends. Discuss time limits and make sure they are kept. Consider putting the family’s rules in writing and posting them near the computer.
• Create a writing zone. Whether writing on a computer or with a notebook and pencil, it’s important that children have a well-organized place to write. Set up an area for writing-- a desk or table with a flat surface and good lighting. Make sure the area is free from potential distractions and that writing tools, including a dictionary, paper and pens, are at the children’s fingertips.
• Encourage your child to read. Read with children at least 15 minutes per day – or roughly two hours per week – since reading will help teach them about sentence structure, grammar and vocabulary. Reading and writing support each other, and good readers become good writers. The more children do of each, the better they will be at both.
According to a survey conducted by Sylvan Learning, 91% of teachers nationwide say they do not accept the use of this informal writing style in their students’ assignments.
Parents should talk to their children about using different styles of language to communicate with different audiences, as adults do in work and home environments. Just as students would talk to an adult at school differently than to a friend at the beach, they also need to remember to adjust their writing style. Formal writing for the classroom must be grammatically correct, with full words and proper sentence structure. Slang and shortcuts are commonplace in email and Instant Messaging, but not acceptable in schoolwork.”
Email and IM style of writing isn’t completely bad, since it does encourage students to write more often. In fact, more than three quarters (76%) of teachers surveyed agree that children can benefit from email and IM as a learning opportunity. When crafting emails, children are challenged to carefully choose their words, keep it simple and use relatively few words to convey tone and meaning appropriately. The popularity of Internet writing is also helping children see writing as a fun activity that encourages creative writing, and not just something they “have to do.”
What Parents Need to Know
Parents will soon notice an increasing demand for children to express themselves more effectively in writing. For example, more states are testing writing skills on proficiency exams. College entrance exams, such as the SAT exam, includes a writing section that requires students to write a short essay that reflects their mastery of core reading and language skills.
To do well on these important exams, students need to know how to write clear, well-organized essays in the short time allotted. Parents can help children develop an understanding of the writing process by modeling. Think about a writing project, develop a brief outline and rewrite drafts. By showing children that writing is a multi-step process and not always instantaneous, parents can help their children make the shift to an academic style of writing easier.
What Parents Can Do
Parents can make the most of their children’s interest in email and other computer writing by helping them to avoid using an informal style of writing too often. Show children that writing can be more than a means of communicating with another person by introducing them to online journaling or Web sites that publish children’s poems, letters, editorials, essays or stories. Remember that a healthy combination of both styles can provide the best writing experience for children.
To help children boost their effective writing skills, the experts at Sylvan Learning offer parents the following tips to avoid IM and email style language making its way into schoolwork:
• Talk to children about using different writing styles to communicate with different audiences. Describe the importance of personalizing messages and why it’s important that students know their audience. While it’s okay to close a letter with “C ya” to a friend in an IM, it is not okay to include this slang in homework assignments. Remind them that formality is required in school.
• Have fun with writing. Provide children with enjoyable ways to practice their writing. Involve them with writing grocery lists, thank you notes, dates on calendars and messages. Or, play games like Blurt!®, TriBond® and MadGab® that help build language and vocabulary skills.
• Review schoolwork for IM and email style language. Encourage children to write properly and take the time to carefully review assignments several times before submitting them to the teacher. Review their homework to make sure they aren’t using shortcuts or slang.
• Talk with children to establish ground rules for using IM and email. Work with children to develop a plan for using IM and email to ensure other responsibilities such as completing homework and chores are met before going online to chat with friends. Discuss time limits and make sure they are kept. Consider putting the family’s rules in writing and posting them near the computer.
• Create a writing zone. Whether writing on a computer or with a notebook and pencil, it’s important that children have a well-organized place to write. Set up an area for writing-- a desk or table with a flat surface and good lighting. Make sure the area is free from potential distractions and that writing tools, including a dictionary, paper and pens, are at the children’s fingertips.
• Encourage your child to read. Read with children at least 15 minutes per day – or roughly two hours per week – since reading will help teach them about sentence structure, grammar and vocabulary. Reading and writing support each other, and good readers become good writers. The more children do of each, the better they will be at both.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Choosing the Right Tutor Can be as Easy as ABC
According to the Education Industry Association, the demand for tutoring has increased 15-18% in the past year, compared to single-digit growth previously. As a result, the number of tutors has also increased dramatically. Before entrusting your child’s academic future to someone, it is important to ensure that person is the best qualified and will personalize the tutoring to fit the child’s individual needs.
Sylvan Learning, the leading provider of tutoring to students of all ages and skill levels, offers easy tips for parents to use when choosing a tutor.
1. Make sure the instructor is licensed or certified. Teachers will need the proper qualifications to assess, diagnose and tutor to a child’s weakness.
2. Look for an instructor with experience teaching children the same age as your child.
3. Request an assessment. An individualized analysis of a student’s strengths and weaknesses can determine a child’s unique needs and help set goals. Also, insist on progress updates as a child passes through each step of the learning program.
4. Define your goals. Are you trying to keep your child from failing? Are you looking to challenge a child who is already doing well in school? Be sure your child’s instructor understands your objective and is skilled enough to meet it.
5. Find an instructor with specific expertise in the subject of your choosing. Just because someone is a math genius, it doesn’t mean he is qualified to teach other subjects.
6. Make a personality match. Determine what kind of teacher the student has excelled with previously.
7. Ask teachers how they will help your child master a specific skill. A good instructor will require that a child learn a specific skill before advancing to the next academic level. Find a teacher who will work with parents and teachers to create an individual program.
8. Obtain recommendations for instructors from family and friends.
9. Ask prospective instructors for references from previous employers and students, or hire a respected supplemental education company, such as Sylvan Learning, that has a proven record of academic success.
Sylvan Learning, the leading provider of tutoring to students of all ages and skill levels, offers easy tips for parents to use when choosing a tutor.
1. Make sure the instructor is licensed or certified. Teachers will need the proper qualifications to assess, diagnose and tutor to a child’s weakness.
2. Look for an instructor with experience teaching children the same age as your child.
3. Request an assessment. An individualized analysis of a student’s strengths and weaknesses can determine a child’s unique needs and help set goals. Also, insist on progress updates as a child passes through each step of the learning program.
4. Define your goals. Are you trying to keep your child from failing? Are you looking to challenge a child who is already doing well in school? Be sure your child’s instructor understands your objective and is skilled enough to meet it.
5. Find an instructor with specific expertise in the subject of your choosing. Just because someone is a math genius, it doesn’t mean he is qualified to teach other subjects.
6. Make a personality match. Determine what kind of teacher the student has excelled with previously.
7. Ask teachers how they will help your child master a specific skill. A good instructor will require that a child learn a specific skill before advancing to the next academic level. Find a teacher who will work with parents and teachers to create an individual program.
8. Obtain recommendations for instructors from family and friends.
9. Ask prospective instructors for references from previous employers and students, or hire a respected supplemental education company, such as Sylvan Learning, that has a proven record of academic success.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
SAT/ ACT® Tests: 12 Steps To Success
More than three million college admissions tests are administered each year, making the SAT and the ACT® two of the most important exams that a high school student will ever take. To ease the pressure off testing and achieve the best results, Sylvan is offering a 12-step guide to help high school students prepare for the SAT and ACT® exams, often considered the gateway to college acceptance.
1. Take the tests in the spring of junior year or fall of senior year of high school.
2. Know the instructions for each section before beginning the test, you won’t have to waste time reading them during
the exam.
3. If you don’t know a test answer and can’t eliminate any incorrect answer choices, skip the question and only go back if time permits. For the ACT, remember to go back and take a guess on any unanswered questions, since there’s no penalty for incorrect answers.
4. Never leave an easy question blank. Easy questions have easy answers.
5. Read, read, read. Read the questions and answers critically.
6. Eliminate answers. If you can eliminate at least two incorrect answers, you generally increase the probability of guessing correctly.
7. Save your time. Don’t spend too much time on any single question. Make sure you have enough time to answer as many questions as possible, in order to rack up as many points
as possible.
8. Focus on what the question is really asking. If you don’t fully understand the question, finding the correct answer is going to be tough.
9. Rushing only hurts you. Work at a good pace and keep track of the time remaining for
each section. Enter the exam with confidence.
10. End each section by reviewing. If time permits, revisit the questions you didn’t answer.
11. Don’t try to cram for the SAT/ACT overnight. Proper preparation takes weeks, even months, of review.
12. Register for a SAT/ACT prep class at least eight weeks before the testing date to gain extra studying assistance and additional confidence.
1. Take the tests in the spring of junior year or fall of senior year of high school.
2. Know the instructions for each section before beginning the test, you won’t have to waste time reading them during
the exam.
3. If you don’t know a test answer and can’t eliminate any incorrect answer choices, skip the question and only go back if time permits. For the ACT, remember to go back and take a guess on any unanswered questions, since there’s no penalty for incorrect answers.
4. Never leave an easy question blank. Easy questions have easy answers.
5. Read, read, read. Read the questions and answers critically.
6. Eliminate answers. If you can eliminate at least two incorrect answers, you generally increase the probability of guessing correctly.
7. Save your time. Don’t spend too much time on any single question. Make sure you have enough time to answer as many questions as possible, in order to rack up as many points
as possible.
8. Focus on what the question is really asking. If you don’t fully understand the question, finding the correct answer is going to be tough.
9. Rushing only hurts you. Work at a good pace and keep track of the time remaining for
each section. Enter the exam with confidence.
10. End each section by reviewing. If time permits, revisit the questions you didn’t answer.
11. Don’t try to cram for the SAT/ACT overnight. Proper preparation takes weeks, even months, of review.
12. Register for a SAT/ACT prep class at least eight weeks before the testing date to gain extra studying assistance and additional confidence.
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