Letya Maud February 22, 2021 worksheets
Have you ever noticed how many K-12 math content websites are devoted to math worksheets? There seems to be an increase in websites that cater to desperate teachers and parents by offering fast, free ”worksheet generation”, ”10 free fractions worksheets,” etc. Now, as a former teacher I am not saying that one should never use math worksheets; however, I do believe that many teachers are using a very superficial method of instruction that relies too much on low-level math worksheets and hands-off instructional approaches. Worksheet lessons move from reading the directions aloud, to doing sample problems as a group, to completing the worksheet independently (or at home with parents), day in and day out. Teaching needs to be more than passing out worksheets. Whether you are the classroom teacher, instructional specialist, or parent, the methods you use greatly impact the level of understanding achieved by your students.
The children should love to do the worksheets; they should not be thrust upon them. Also doing only worksheets alone repeatedly would not be very productive. You should have a range of physical games and activities as well that would reinforce the concepts learnt. Here are a few ideas for such activities: The alphabet song: This remains a lovely way to practise the alphabet. Sing it slowly and sing it often. If you have a large alphabet chart and point out to each letter while you sing, it will be of great value. You can give all children letter cards in order (alphabet flashcards); they can hold up each letter as it is sung. Show a magazine or picture book to children. Ask them to identify all instances of the given letter in any page. Hand out letter cards to all children. Call out a letter. The child with that card has to come in front of the class and display the letter. Divide the class into two groups. Give one group letter cards. Give other group various objects. The first group will hold up a letter. The second group should hold up an object that starts with that letter. Where can we get kindergarten abc worksheets? You can design them yourself and print them out. Many printed workbooks are available. A good alternative is to download printable kindergarten abc worksheets. This is advantageous because you can then usually print out any sheet any number of times.
If you have read my article ”Helping Your Child With Basic Arithmetic? Stay Away From Worksheets” then you know that I am not a fan of traditional worksheets. After writing that article, I found another credible teacher who has written many ezine articles expounding on the benefits of worksheets. I decided some clarification of position is in order. The primary problem with most math worksheets is that the problems are already written out and the child need only write the answers. For learning and practicing the basic skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, it is much more beneficial for the child to write out the entire fact and say the entire fact out loud. A child will learn a multiplication fact much faster if they are writing out 6 x 8 = 48 at the same time they are saying ”six times eight is forty-eight” than if they just see 6 x 8 = ___ and only have to supply the 48.
2. Math worksheets don’t promote critical thinking. Math worksheets rarely ask students to think critically or creatively. They usually present multiple examples of the same problem type with the hope of reinforcing a skill or procedure. They do not challenge students to use higher order thinking skills such as comparing, analyzing, deducing, and synthesizing. These skills are built through activities in which students discover concepts, explore ideas, test a hypothesis, solve a problem, and discuss their thinking with their peers. Exploring concepts and problems in many different ways builds interest and promotes critical thinking. 3. Math worksheets don’t promote communication and collaboration. Math worksheets are often assigned as an independent activity, however research indicates that communication and discourse are needed to build a deep understanding of math topics. Students need opportunities to explore mathematical ideas in different ways and to build their own connections. This involves communicating their ideas, listening to the ideas of others, arguing a viewpoint, describing, and explaining. Math worksheets are rarely used as a catalyst for conversation. Instead of assigning worksheets, find activities that encourage discourse, such as ”number talks,” or collaborative group work. During the session, be sure to require students to explain their thinking and listen to the strategies and thinking of their peers. If you are fortunate enough to have an interactive whiteboard in your classroom, using it with interactive math software creates many opportunities for group discussion and student participation. Teachers can can begin by posing problems and modeling approaches, and then ask students to work together to find solutions. Then have them come to the board to demonstrate their solutions in front of the class. These days, many examples of how to teach math concepts on an interactive whiteboard can be found online in the various whiteboard community sites, educational sites, YouTube, etc.
Homeschool worksheets have pros and cons that depend on the type of material the worksheet deals with. One advantage is that worksheets are very handy if you want to give your child something to do. Some types of worksheets are very easy to grade and can be completed without much input from you. Worksheets can also give you a good idea of how much your child was able to understand of the subject matter. While worksheets for homeschool can assist in home schooling, they cannot take the place of a proper homeschool curriculum. One disadvantage they have is that they often focus on one subject area only, without integrating the whole curriculum. They can also be simplistic and give the impression that the student understands more than he actually does. Free homeschool worksheets that you can print are available online. Some of them may be excellent, but you will have to make sure that they are accurate and suitable for your curriculum or child.
2. To Pay or Not to Pay? There are hundreds if not thousands of free printable worksheets available online. These are ideal for filling time or keeping the kids busy on a rainy day, but few of them offer a systematic set of worksheets with activities designed to teach your children a specific set of skills. If education is your aim, you may have to spend a little to get useful, comprehensive worksheets that actually help your child to learn. 3. Quality vs Quantity. Some free worksheets are not good quality – the pictures are fuzzy, backgrounds print grey or speckled – and children tend to notice these things. If you are using the worksheets to educate your child, you may want to choose good quality worksheets that encourage your child to produce good quality work. After all, it’s a little difficult to ask your child to color within the lines and work neatly when the worksheet they are filling in hasn’t done the same.
Recent Post
Categories
Archive
Most Popular
Tag Cloud
algebra math equations division with 2 digit divisors worksheets math solving equations worksheets math the word addition is fun counting dimes worksheet basic arithmetic test really difficult math problems free printable addition and subtraction worksheets longest math problem free math games ks3 math coloring worksheets high school math experiments for middle school basic number theory cool math test adding and subtracting intergersLatest Review
Latest News
Recent Post
Terms of UsePrivacy PolicyCookie PolicyContactCopyrightAbout
© 2021 Onedayinsandiego. All rights reserved.