Basic Math for A Brighter Future

Fountain Valley parents with children in kindergarten and first and second grades learned  how to help their students master the foundations of mathematics and the importance of the subject during a Fountain Valley School District parent training session Tuesday.

“A solid foundation in elementary math is a solid foundation for math in the future and later on in their careers,” said retired FVSD teacher Sandra Crandall. As technology advances, related careers require potential employees to be strong in math.

By mastering the concrete aspects, students will have a better chance doing succeeding when abstract math, such as algebra, is introduced.

Statistics have shown that 150 middle school level students have emerged beyond the expected standard curriculum, with sixth-graders taking pre-algebra, seventh-graders taking algebra and eighth-graders taking geometry. 

And again, the success is impossible without possessing a thorough understanding of basic math, Crandall said. She shares with parents ways they can encourage the learning at home without a lesson plan through family activities.

With a jar of pickles, parents can help their children improve their estimating skills by having each family member submit a guess. On a separate piece of paper, attach it to the jar and each time the pickles are used, tally how many pickles were used when the jar is empty, the number of tallies will reveal who was the closest with their estimation. By repeating the same activities for various items, children will be able to develop a better sense of quantity, a skill necessary for science.

Another key to better learning is to verbalize everything in sight, Crandall said. While many actions and reasoning may be obvious to adults, children should not be expected to understand concepts by themselves. For example, when playing a card game, verbalize “One for you, one for me” when passing out the cards, and when there is a winner, explain why that person won, instead of assuming that children already know.

In addition to parent support, the district also offers supplemental math programs to help their young students succeed, including Math Their Way, Forsnot Math, Accelerated Math, Cognitive Guided Instruction, Touch Math, and Spatial Temporal Math. Each program is designed to focus on different parts of math and is taught in different styles and methods.

California standards require kindergartenrs and first and second grade students to master number sense through addition and subtraction, algebra and functions, measurements and geometry, statistics, data analysis and probability and mathematical reasoning.

By targeting the youngest students, future individuals are most likely to be accomplished if basic needs are met early on. And Crandall is certain that with the district's support, all students have an equal chance of excelling.

“No matter where your child is in math, everybody will get the same provision and services offered here in the district,” she said. “The best approach is one that works.”