Questions tagged [primary-education]
For questions about the mathematical education in the first years in school (ages approx. 5-10).
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Where to distribute free math ed materials for informal settings?
I am a psychologist studying mathematical thinking and learning and I have been organizing a monthly math night at a local library. Each math night consists of a short presentation followed by several ...
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Whole numbers as sets vs abstracted properties of sets
I recently landed on a book written for elementary school teachers which introduced the concept of whole numbers in the following manner:
We have a set $\{\alpha, \beta, \gamma\}$. There are other ...
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Elementary Teacher Math specialist/ Basic Math Minor
I'm the math department chair at a small university. Our general education program is non-traditional. The university is split into three areas. Students are expected to complete a major in one of the ...
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A few quick sentences to inspire an 8 year old in Maths
I have always been passionate and fascinated with maths, my job revolves around the subject, but I'm not an educator. Today I met the 8 year old son of a friend, I had the opportunity to speak to him ...
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Why do we explicitly state the equality of two things when we know they're equal
Recently my brother in high school and I were talking about some math when he said
If we know two things are the same i.e. equal why do we need to state
that they're the same? What he was trying to ...
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What is the justification to teach the (redundant) use of parentheses in multiplications?
Example: 5 x 18 = (5 x 10) + (5 x 8) instead of 5 x 10 + 5 x 8?
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Should math for elementary teachers content be taught under the direction of the math department?
I recently was appointed math department chair at a small university. We have a 3 credit math for elementary teachers content course. Administration told us they will change this course into an ...
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Arithmetic books for adults
I'm trying to learn arithmetic from scratch again. Even though I can use it, I'm not sure if I can teach it to someone and I believe if you can't teach something properly, there might be loopholes in ...
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What is the maximum value of the sum of the digits of the sum of the digits of a three-digit number?
The following is an elementary-level Math Kangaroo multiple choice question:
What is the maximum value of the sum of the digits of the sum of the digits of a three-digit number?
A. 9
B. 10
C. 11
D....
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What value is there in requiring students to answer word problems in complete sentences?
This is related to my previous question What value is there in requiring students to declare the dimensions of an answer when it is already clear from context? , but with a different focus.
A sizeable ...
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Why is calculus important for pre-service Math basic school teachers?
Why should pre-service math basic school teachers take calculus courses?
Should this course be different from calculus courses offered to engineering?
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math syllabus US education system 1-12th Grade
Please share links to websites / pdf files containing syllabus in subject mathematics in US education system Grades 1-12.
Thank you.
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What value is there in requiring students to declare the dimensions of an answer when it is already clear from context?
When I was in late primary and middle school (east coast US, early 1990's), we were assigned a lot of word problems of the following general form:
Mary has eight self-sealing stem bolts. She sells ...
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What is the MOST efficient paper/mental multiplication algorithm for integers?
What is the most efficient (fastest) multiplication strategy that can be done mentally or with a pencil/paper? We can include strategies that use interesting tools like Napiers Bones or Soroban math. ...
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How do I teach the difference between Linear Equations and Equation of a Line
I am more of an Intuitive Learner and Teacher so while looking at Linear Equations chapter I see that they are teaching Equations of Line there, which in my opinion is wrong.
See How I understand it ...
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Finding an analogy to explain the function of a binary adder
I want to find an intuitive analogy to explain how binary addition (more precise: an adder circuit in a computer) works. The point here is to explain the abstract process of adding something by ...
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Word problems written in past tense, present tense, or future tense
Does anyone have extensive classroom experience regarding the best verb tense to use when writing word problems at an elementary or middle school level? I have been writing some lessons recently and I ...
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How to encourage young student to think in unusual ways?
I tutor a young girl aged 11 (grade 4).
She is doing OK for her age, but I have observed that she has a tendency for rigid ways of thinking. She is usually more inclined to follow rules and stick to ...
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Pro's and cons of number line model vs color counter model
Pro's and cons of number line model vs color counter model
When teaching multiplication to elementary schoolers, the "number line model" and "color counter model" are both widely ...
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Is there an agreed upon difference between how we represent $\frac{a}{b}$ and $a \cdot \frac{1}{b}$?
When teaching addition and multiplication of fractions, I seem to recall some advice on this site that one should first treat the cases
$a \cdot \frac{c}{d}$ and $a + \frac{c}{d}$ before moving on to ...
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Are these fraction problems different enough to warrant individual consideration?
Consider the following problems:
A) You have 20 problems for your math homework this week, and you want to do 1/5 of them today. How many problems do you need to do today?
B) You need to read a 20 ...
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Teaching Math for Elementary Teachers
What would you guys say the requirements for teaching "Math for Elementary Teachers" should be? Is this generally agree'd upon? Would you recommend it be taught by somebody who has a ...
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What is the rationale for distinguishing between proper and improper fractions?
I cannot recall ever hearing the terms "improper fraction" and "proper fraction" outside of an elementary and middle school setting. At some point in my mathematics education ...
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How to encourage grade 5 kid very interested in mathematics?
My son is in Class or Grade 5 in India. he really likes mathematics. Apart from school work, he does ixl.com, website dedicated for math exercises of his class.
he does those exercises relatively ...
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What do kids(6-15) need to know in Math to be able to understand Math easily and effectively?
I teach kids in a village and I was wondering if there is a list of Facts, Procedures, things, a kid 6-15 years of age should know to be able to easily understand things at his/her level of Math. ...
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Preparing elementary teachers for the praxis exam
I'm teaching a class called "Math for Elementary Teachers." The main goal of the course is to prepare the prospective teachers for an exam that I believe is called "Praxis" (some ...
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Creating best hand on activities on how to teach equal sharing with fractions in grade 3
(a) How to enhance learners interest in learning equal sharing with fractions in grade 3?
(b) Which effective activities will be used to help learners in learning fractions?
(c) What can be created to ...
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Is there an equivalent for "tiervenner" in English or other languages?
In Norway a widely used concept is that of "tiervenner", "ten friends" (my translation to Finnish is "kymppikaverit"). This simply means numbers (implicitly positive ...
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Reference request: an introduction to triangular, square, and other figurate numbers
There are dozens (maybe thousands) of websites that explain what triangular numbers, square numbers, etc. are. I'm searching for a printed book that includes this material, preferably at a level that ...
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Teaching words with multiple meanings in Mathematics and English
We want to teach about words that have multiple meanings, in mathematics and
English for middle school children (e.g., function, root, or, volume, angle, constant). This is for students who are ...
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Is it a good idea for elementary school students to observe and discover the "circle perimeter formula" themselves without being dictated to?
Let them discover $\;\ell=2\pi R\;$ by their own, at least the invariance of $\ell/R$
Do you think that the following method works well in a mathematics class of elementary school? What do you think ...
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Why do we introduce the notion that triangles are "congruent" instead of just saying that they are "the same" or "equal"?
The assumed age of the students is 10-15 years old.
What is the danger in saying that two triangles are "the same" or "equal" instead of saying that they are congruent? It seems to ...
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What can (and should) an educator do about ambiguous terms like "triangle", "square", etc?
The imagined students are in elementary school, say around 9-13 years old.
I want to use rather precise terminology when talking to my students. However, it seems like we typically use the same ...
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What are strategies that a 10-13 year old could use to convert 6/27 into decimal notation?
Background:
I am working with 10-13 year olds.
I saw a problem which requires the students to convert $6/27$ into decimal notation. I can think of some methods, but I have not tested using any of the ...
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What does research indicate about how one should treat units in elementary school?
Background:
My friend told me that when she was in elementary school, the teacher would ask questions like "If you have $6$ apples and eat $2$ of them, how many apples do you have left?" A ...
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Looking for an educational game from long ago, possibly called Mother Goose [closed]
OK so this is really old school. Back in the 1980s, as a latchkey kid, I played on the computers in the library in elementary and middle school. There was this one bizarre educational game that I'd ...
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How many of "The Seven Laws of Teaching" are still relevant for teaching maths today?
Wikipedia shows that in 1886 John Milton Gregory outlined his "The Seven Laws of Teaching"; asserting that a teacher should:
Know thoroughly and familiarly the lesson you wish to teach; ...
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What research has been done on the effects of requiring students to learn to count in an alternative number base such a binary or base eight? [closed]
What research has been done on the effects of requiring students to learn to count and do some easy arithmetic in an alternative number base, for example binary, base four, base six, base eight, base ...
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Which works better for learning 6 * 7 = 42: saying "six sevens are forty-two", or "six times seven equals forty-two"?
When memorizing and recalling the times table, I learned to say "six sevens are forty-two", and always wondered what it would be like to learn to say "six times seven equals forty-two&...
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Which product of single digits do children usually get wrong?
(I was inspired by the comments in this answer to ask this question.)
I have some multiplication table cards from Kumon that have a list of commonly mistaken multiplications: $7\times 8, 4\times 8, 11\...
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Is there a virtue to learning how to compute by hand?
I have been professionally tutoring a wide range of students (from elementary school through graduate school) for many years. Most of them are from the United States. I generally focus on helping my ...
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Why students do not notice sign of plus/minus?
My child in grade 3 often needs a reminder because in a task where he needs to do addition he would subtract instead of adding or v.v ignoring the signs given in a task. He would also forget adding ...
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Sensible amount of repetition 7 year old
We are now in lock-down, so while homeschooling my son I get to se exactly what he does for math. He has been getting a huge amount of repetitive practicing of really simple math, despite being quite ...
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How can I explain why we need proofs to someone who has no experience in mathematical thinking?
I know someone I really like, but sadly, that person has absolutely no experience in math or mathematical thinking above third grade mathematics (+, - are fine, but division already makes problems). ...
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Defining mathematics to primary/elementary school teachers
I'm looking for a simple way to define mathematics to primary/elementary school teachers and explain some of the confusion children have.
I'm hoping some Algebraist could help me properly state the ...
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Resources for Unit Rates
I am currently mentoring my little brother in mathematics. There is an issue with the pedagogy of unit rates. For example when given the following concept " 11.00 U.S. Dollars to 20 Planet X ...
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Teaching Mathematics to a Younger Sibling
I always wanted to teach my siblings mathematics, and one, ten years of age, is particularly eager. For the purposes of specializing recommendations, I will add he can use arithmetic up to ...
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Mental visualisation ability test for each age?
What are standard tests for mental visualization (image, representation) for kids?
So far I know about mental arithmetics and spatial rotation tests. Is there any other way to check mental vision ...
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Is there an arithmetic book similar to “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons” by Siegfried Engelmann?
I have found Engelmann’s book (mentioned in subject) to be extremely effective. Is there an equivalent to this book for teaching Arithmetic? I believe the overall approach or method is called Direct ...
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Future educators writing nonsense questions
I teach future elementary educators mathematics content courses.
We play a lot in class with tasks like "Write a variety of word problems which would require the student to multiply 2.3 by 1.4&...
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