Showing posts with label math. Show all posts
Showing posts with label math. Show all posts

Monday, February 27, 2012

Dreaming of Summer...


We know it’s cold outside…
but we’re already thinking about summer!


As you’re planning for summer camps, activities, and vacations, save a little time for skill building! In just a few weeks, we can help students catch up on last year’s skills or get ahead for next year. We have a variety of in-home tutoring available!





Does your child need help
with reading or writing? Try:

Endlessly adaptable and one of our most popular programs among students, “comp comp” helps students of all ages refine their reading and writing skills. We’ll help students learn to think critically, respond to text meaningfully, and read actively.

Depending on your child’s grade, we’ll work on skills such as:
  • Note-taking
  • Annotation
  • Writing complete paragraphs
  • Organization and structure
  • Writing responses to literature
  • Synthesizing information from different texts



Is your child behind in Math?
Take a look at Math Bridges!

In a busy classroom, few students master every skill that is taught. If the gaps in a student’s math knowledge include skills that are building blocks for future math, those small gaps can become big problems. With a summer math bridge, we address these issues by taking a dual focus approach.

Here’s how it works:
  • diagnostic test pinpoints strengths and weaknesses.
  • We create a customized tutoring plan focusing on the gaps in current math knowledge.
  • We simultaneously work on both those gaps and on previewing content for the coming school year.
Summer is the perfect time to patch up holes in knowledge without the added pressure of the school year!

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Some Problems with "New" Math

We're constantly helping students with math. One trend we're seeing is that some of the "new" math curricula isn't giving students a strong foundation of basic math facts. Math builds on itself over time. As a student advances in math, tackling increasingly complicated problems and skills, undetected holes in their foundational knowledge can cause huge problems later.


What is "new" Math?

Everyday Math is one type of "new math" widely used throughout Chicagoland elementary schools. It has grown in popularity because it's thought to teach "higher level" problem solving skills. Problem-solving skills are important, and the truth is, many students do quite well with Everyday Math. The consistent problem that we see is that foundational, basic math skills are not taught, which really leaves some kids behind.

What is it about this "new" math that leaves some students with gaping holes in their math knowledge? This youtube video, Math Education: An Inconvenient Truth, sheds some light on the problem. It compares the traditional methods for solving a multiplication problem with the new methods. It's not difficult to see why the new methods are confusing for kids learning math for the first time. Watch this if your child's school is using the Everyday Math curriculum.


What do we do about it?

If your child is using a "new" math program, t
he important thing is to supplement!
  • Make sure your children learn their basic math facts to mastery. Flash cards, dice games, leap frog toys, and online tools like aleks quick tables are great for learning math facts.
  • Check out ixl.com or aleks.com if you want to do an online math program at home.
  • Tutoring is always an option! Feel free to give us a call. We've encountered many of these situations in tutoring, and we're happy to help!