5th Grade Math

“But mom, I still don’t get it. It just doesn’t make sense,” says Tim with a frustrated tone. Many kids and parents have been there- especially those moving to, or who are in the 5th grade. 5th grade math often is that point when math problem solving can start to be confusing for a child. This predominantly can ring true in children that have shown previous struggles in math. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. With some quality time and the use of various tools, helping a child with 5th grade math problems can instead be simpler and even a fun activity.

5th grade is often that stage where students struggle to understand the concepts. This is the level that transitions a student from basic elementary math to the more complex skills needed for middle and high school. It is a level of preparation for what is to come. Therefore, 5th grade math will take students on a journey of educational transformation. Because there are many factors involved in math in the higher grade levels, students must learn a variety of skills and methods to help with computation.

Math is so different now, with a variety of newer computational methods. Once a child starts the transition from basic math to more complex skills, parents also can get confused. Newer methods include definitions and processes that a parent may never have heard of or practiced. It’s not that the parents cannot do the math (although, that is becoming more and more common!). It simply is because the steps to the process may be labeled or figured differently. Time is also a big constraint for parents to help their kids with math problems.

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Because 5th grade math presents concepts that will be used throughout middle and high school, it must be understood well by students. Students who do not learn 5th grade math concepts will have a very difficult time understanding future math lessons. If the basic fundamentals are not clear to students, anything learnt on top of it will not be effective either.

There are a variety of ways for parents to help kids with 5th grade math. Studying time does not have to be frustrating for either the child or the parents.

Set Aside an Hour Each Day

When time is always set aside to focus on learning, the process will run smoother and come together quicker. Everyday practice also keeps the child’s brain focused. When concepts are not consistently practiced, they can be forgotten.

Online Tools and Services

We all can use a little help sometimes. Tutoring services can be a great help in figuring out where a child’s strengths and weaknesses are, as well as focus on improving the weak points. Online tutoring can sometimes be more affordable and more convenient. Websites like ClickandClimb.com are helping parents discover new ways to help their children with math. Other online tools, such as printable worksheets also are a great way to help children struggling with 5th grade math skills.Worksheetlibrary.com is a great resource for printable worksheets. Many of them are free.

Make Math Fun

Math does not have to be boring. With engaging lessons and fun games, parents can make learning math a fun activity that is enjoyed daily. Children should look forward to learning, not feel frustrated when it is time for it to begin. In addition to creating fun ways to complete math, attitude says everything. To help a child feel good about math, parents should express happy feelings when it is time for daily math sessions.

Be Positive

Parents’ attitude affects the student directly and has a big impact on them. Although it is good to share your math struggles with your young ones, it’s critical not to speak negatively about the subject. Students need to know the importance of math, and that they can conquer the fear of math with hard work and proper tools and planning. Be realistically optimistic!

Source: ArticlesBase.com

Educating With High Speed Vedic Maths

The purpose of this article is to explain why learning Vedic Math (Vedic Maths) is a benefit to all who study it. I have been studying and teaching Vedic Maths for about 12 years. During that time, I have tried to interest various segments of the general public to learn and appreciate Vedic Maths. I would like to describe some of the experiences I have had so that any budding Vedic Maths teachers might learn from my experiences.

The first group that I approached was, in my estimation, the most logical and the one with the greatest impact on our youth: the public school system. I was woefully mistaken in that I thought they would be greatly interested. The example that I typically give, to sum up the response I have received over the years is this: let us assume that there is a student that has been shown the traditional methodology to add and subtract fractions and they do not and cannot understand it. They have honestly tried to figure out how to solve problems of this type using the tools their teacher has provided them, but, to no avail. They just cannot figure out how to do it.

By continuing to “beat their head against the wall” trying, to no avail, to understand the teacher’s approach, they are frustrated and have started down the road of hating math for the rest of their lives. I explain within one minute how they can solve problems of this type using Vedic techniques. They can now just look at the fraction problem and immediately just state the answer in five seconds or less. You would think that the teacher observing this would shout “please tell me what you told him so I can take it back to all of my other students having the same misery with fraction problems.” Unfortunately, this is not what I hear. The response I receive over and over is “I don’t like this approach.”

When I ask why, they tell me “how do I know that the student knows what he is doing if he doesn’t write anything down.” I have two responses for the teacher. The first response is that the student got the right answer. The second response is that I only explained how the method works; it will take another minute or two to explain why it works. As unbelievable as it may seem, they will not accept my reasons. They would rather have the student not be able to do fraction problems, be incredibly frustrated and start to hate math with a passion. Maybe this is the reason that almost everyone in every class I have been invited to raises their hands when I ask how many of them hate math. It is a terrible situation when students aged 13-15 have to rely on a calculator to multiply single digit numbers. I have been in classes where I will ask literally, “what is 6 times 4″ and they cannot give an answer. One student actually started counting on her fingers in an attempt to get an answer. This is a pervasive problem that the United States has been suffering with for some time. In the 2009 PISA Study, which tested 15 year olds in math, reading and science from the top 65 industrialized countries in the world, the United States ranked 31st in Math and not much better in the other areas. Until the education establishment in the United States realizes that their current approach to teaching math does not work and are willing to examine alternative approaches, I have the feeling that this situation will only get worse.

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There are groups that are willing to listen to alternative approaches to learning math. One very responsive group has been homeschoolers. I have given Vedic Maths workshops to these groups with very positive results. By the end of the workshop, the students feel “empowered” with the knowledge that they can now do certain types of math problems faster than they ever thought they could do before (more about the concept of “empowerment” later on). The parents in these classes usually have mixed emotions regarding my presentation. On the one hand, they are just as amazed as their children with their new found ability in mathematics, but, on the other hand, they are angry that they were never shown these techniques when they went to school. I have found that there are certain ethnic groups that appear to place a higher importance on education than others. These groups are Indians, Orientals and Jews. The parents from these groups will be open to anything they feel will enable their children to better compete in the world. Obviously, there will always be exceptions, but, these groups show a remarkably solid concern towards the importance of education.

I have found two additional groups that appreciate the benefits of Vedic Math. Just recently, I gave two workshops for the hearing impaired in my community. Never presenting to the deaf before, I was a little anxious as to how both the material and I would be received. To my delight, the time I spent with them was a success. They understood what I was explaining to them and by the time the workshop was over, they all had smiles and felt “empowered.” The other group that I have become involved with are the unemployed in my community. They is a company in my community that will help the unemployed receive all types of financial aid to get into educational/vocational programs to better position themselves to get jobs. Before they can avail themselves of this valuable resource, they need to pass a standardized exam in reading and in math. About 60% – 65% fail this exam with almost 95% failing specifically due to poor performance on the math portion. I have been providing workshops in Vedic Maths to help them pass this exam. Passing this exam can make the difference between getting a job or not; between being able to feed their families or not; even being able to keep their families together or not. Vedic Maths is helping to change people’s lives for the better. When they pass their exam, they feel “empowered.”

Several times above, I had used the term “empowered.” Let me now tell you about the true power of Vedic Maths. The first question you should ask yourself is “with all of the negativity in the world, why would any child (or adult) even want to learn Vedic Math?” Society seems to be more interested in promoting and admiring rock stars, athletes, sex and violence than they are of scholars. Schools have stopped teaching math and are now teaching “calculator.” Parents are more interested in getting their kids to soccer practice than to make sure they understand the very basics society demands: knowing how to read and do math. The media is more interested in promoting their economic and political agendas at the expense of our children. Our children and our children’s peers are more interested in playing video games, being on the internet, texting messages on their cell phones and going out with their friends then making sure their homework is done properly and completely understood. Keeping your child happy is more important than assuring that they are educated. Everyone is failing: society, schools, teachers, parents, the media and, most of all, our children. Again, I ask, with all of this negativity, why would a person want to learn Vedic Math? I will now tell you why. In every individual, there are certain undeniable traits that exist irrespective of the degree of negativity that surrounds the person. These traits are: the need to feel admired, the need to be envied, the need for the feeling one gets from being able to do something better than anyone else and the need to feel good about oneself. Learning Vedic Maths meets these needs almost immediately. In almost no time at all, a student learns a Vedic Maths technique and can suddenly multiply large numbers, add and subtract fractions, square numbers, etc. faster than they ever thought possible; faster than anyone they know; and most likely faster than anyone in their community. These positive feelings are immediately felt during a Vedic Maths workshop. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen a student go from withdrawn and looking either bored or about to cry when I start a workshop and are smiling and very positive by the end. They feel like they can take on the world. And why not? They have just realized that one of the biggest obstacles in their lives, mathematics, is now a stepping-stone to help them reach the next higher level in their lives that they thought was previously unattainable. By proving to them that they can do math, which they considered the hardest subject for them to learn, maybe life’s other obstacles will seem a little less insurmountable.

Learning Vedic Math will definitely enhance a person’s ability to do mathematics, but, as I have detailed above, that is such a small part of the benefits that can be derived from Vedic Maths.

Source: ArticlesBase.com