My third grade class is teeming with curious mathematicians and warm families who are eager to help support student learning at home, but aren't sure how. The students are excited about learning and I believe the cornerstone of good primary math instruction is practicing concepts through game play, which is engaging, fun and meaningful.
For my students, many of whom are English Language Learners and first generation students, homework can be a difficult time if parents aren’t confident in supporting activities and don't have resources to practice with at home. Through parent math workshops, each family will be given the tools they need to reinforce standards based math concepts and support learning outside of the classroom.
Every school year is critical for math development, but for lower performing and poor students, researchers have consistently demonstrated that without mastery of basic computational and problem solving abilities, students leave 3rd grade headed for the "4th grade slump,” where they fall behind in a rapidly paced math curriculum.
I have taught 4th grade and have seen the devastating effects that gaps in skills can have as curriculum becomes more advanced. As a 3rd grade teacher I am committed to having all of my students progress to 4th grade confident and prepared, and parents are a critical asset in making this happen. Unfortunately, many of my families lack access to the resources and tools that can support student learning at home. In addition, teaching math is not innate, and some parents lack the confidence they need to get students excited and engaged outside of school with the world of math. One math block a day is not enough, and it is imperative that students have opportunities to build mathematical understanding outside of school in an authentic way that makes math homework worthwhile.
Through small evening group workshops, parents will come together to learn how to mathematically engage their students through games and will leave prepared with the materials and skills needed to play at home together. I will teach parents four games that students will have been introduced to in class prior to the workshops.
These four games will be based on math power standards and will target number sense, place value, computation, algebraic thinking and problem solving. Each set of materials corresponds with a particular game and parents will be shown how to use flash cards meaningfully to reinforce memorization and recall. Parents will also be given ideas for how to use questioning and probing techniques to help students build problem solving strategies. Parents will leave the workshops with durable materials, handouts for reference and confidence to participate in student learning at home. Families will follow-up by completing a math game log for homework each night that documents game play choice and time spent playing.
Your help will build an important partnership between my students, my parents, and myself to best support learning at home. When teachers, parents and students work together on a focused goal of targeting math power standards, students will get what they need in a fun and meaningful way and parents will become empowered to advance their student’s academic learning. These basic materials will provide families with the invaluable experience of building lasting math skills and engaging together in learning outside of school.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Keane and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.