What is the best way to get a child interested in math? originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Answer by Jessica Margolin , Math major; then Physics at UC Berkeley, on Quora:
First, we have to talk a little bit about what math is.
There are really two different ways to think about math: one is as a set of algorithms (recipes) and the other is as a language that we use to precisely describe certain logical concepts.
Algorithms
In fourth grade, students have already begun learning algorithms. “Carrying” and “borrowing” are algorithms. “Long division” is a fairly complex algorithm for a 9 year old. And then of course, computing with fractions is algorithmic.
So the bad news is that learning algorithms really does require somewhat boring practice, and that learning algorithms is necessary to succeed. I’ll tell you that kids who don’t learn their multiplications by heart and quickly are going to have trouble “undoing” multiplication — in other words, they’ll have problems with division, and even more problems with factoring. Struggling in division and factoring will not only will make 4th-6th grade decidedly un-fun, but when they’re taking Algebra, a lot of what they’re doing is simplifying, which requires them to quickly know the factors of a number. If a student sees “54” but doesn’t immediately think “9 x 6” they are going to suffer!
Language
But loving math is about loving the language and what you can do with it. Loving math is understanding that division is undoing multiplication, and that radicals are undoing exponentiation. It’s seeing the power of “inverse operations” (undoing) and looking for the Identity* whenever you learn new kinds of operations. (Example: addition and subtraction are operations, they’re inverses of each other, and their identity operator is 0: anything + 0 = itself.)
Loving math means getting excited about learning all the little rules that you can later use in the algorithms. Then, learning the algorithms becomes a game, not a chore!
In Math, asking “What property are you using here?” is similar to asking in Language Arts whether “to drive” is a verb. It may seem a little dry, but you know that once you understand what verbs are? Now THAT’s power!
What you can do
You should consider online games or relatively fun ways to memorize.
For multiplication, start with counting by groups before you try to memorize multiplication tables. If you can have the child MOVE physically that helps (“OK, now… run in place the number of steps that are… 3 x 3!!”) and be sure they’ve been fed. Make sure that multiplication is completely solid. Then you can start teaching the puzzle that is division. If you approach all the algorithms like games, then kids are more likely to have the experience: Oh, there’s a way to do this, I just have to remember to get all the steps in order.
The worksheet comes AFTER they understand and have verbal fluency, so that they can get to mastery. Mastery is fun. Mastery is the reward for understanding. When kids get B’s in math it shows me that they struggle but never feel like strutting around saying “Look at me! I know how to do the thing!” It’s amazing how much better a child feels about a subject when they are able to experience mastery, at least from time to time! If your child is in school, spend some time outside of school making sure they hit a mastery level if the class is a bit too quick for them. (Also, sometimes classes move too quickly — the teachers can only do so much to keep the fastest and slowest learners engaged enough at the same time.)
Finally, make absolutely sure the child isn’t saying “I’m so stupid!” or anything else global and negative. For children under about age 8, you can say “You think you’re stupid? Really? I don’t think you’re stupid.” For older kids, you’ll need to ask them why they think they’re stupid and then challenge whether that is a true indication of stupidity (whatever that is…) (really, I have no idea what “stupidity” is…).
Handling frustration is a skill, and one that parents can teach. One of the reasons worksheets can be awful is that they provoke anxiety. You can also have the child practice belly breathing between doing problems — that can be part of the physicality of the day.
What else you can do
Instead of looking for worksheets, search for books that have stories or incorporate math in their discussion of the real world. There are books online that are math for soccer and math for basketball that will directly tie learning math with life experience. Cookbooks are great for fractions. Anything involving building will have measurement and basic calculations, and from there you can go to area and angles.
Finally, one of my favorites is playing poker! You can start with using the chips to denote the 1’s and 10’s places, expand to add 100’s, and then eventually convert these into “dollars” so that you have 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, and 100. It’s perfect for learning place value, and the whole family can play! (You can play “to win” rather than using the chips as money, and whoever wins gets some special thing which works for your family.)
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