Mental Math Mania
In this 6 week course, students will practice strategies to compute numbers in their head in a relaxed and stress-free environment.
Nancy H Tilton
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:(9)
What's included
6 live meetings
5 in-class hoursClass Experience
For many people, being asked to compute numbers on the spot is a very stressful experience. This class aims to provide some practice with being able to decompose (take apart) numbers into smaller chunks so they can feel more ease in this situation. In this 6 week course, we will practice various strategies to compute mentally. This class is great for a student who would benefit from a playful and laid back approach to numeracy to help boost their confidence in math. Even if a student might be able to use traditional algorithms (lining up the numbers to add vertically) to add large numbers, they might not have had the time and space to playfully consider numbers carefully to take them apart and put the back together in meaningful ways using our base 10 number system. This can contribute to feeling scared to answer simple math problems quickly because they only know how to follow a particular set of steps to solve a problem rather than to take a breath, relax, and just think about what each number means and how to put them together in a meaningful way. I hope to facilitate an environment with care to give students the time and space to solve problems in a way that helps them feel more confidence in computation without needing to always turn to a traditional algorithm. Class one will cover how to use doubles facts as a strategy to add numbers faster. For example, how can knowing what 6+6 is help you know what 6+8 is? How could this help you solve 26 + 6? Or 26 + 16? Class two will cover how to find tens in numbers as a strategy to add numbers faster. For example, how many groups of ten can you find in the problem 26 + 14? How can that help you solve 26 + 15? Class three will take what we covered in classes one and two use those as a starting off point to compute subtraction problems mentally. Class four will review addition and subtraction strategies for mental computation. Class five will cover strategies for memorizing multiplication facts. For example, what are facts that you know that can help you with facts that you don't know? If you know your 5's facts, how can you use 5 x 7 to help you know 6 x 7? Class six will cover more strategies for multiplying mentally. For example, doubling numbers and doubling then again: If you know what 2 x 6 is, how does that help you know what 4 x 6 is? This class will have an add-on option to in the future to continue with bigger multiplication problems and division.
Learning Goals
Students will:
-practice decomposing (taking apart) numbers mentally and then putting them back together in groups of tens and ones
-practice using facts they know to help them compute new and different problems.
-have time and space to think about numbers in a stress-free environment to hopefully learn that thinking about numbers can be fun!
Other Details
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined February, 2019
5.0
9reviews
Teacher expertise and credentials
I have been working with children in a variety of schools for the past 20 years. I have a degree in Elementary Education with an area of emphasis in Mathematics. After college, I began teaching 5th grade in the public school setting and found that most students weren't receiving the foundation to love math and numbers. Instead, many of the "strong" students were those who could follow steps, yet they didn't really grasp or understand what they were doing and why the algorithms they were using actually worked.
I left my public school career in 2009 to pursue teaching in small private schools, first a small Quaker school and now an Agile Learning Center. I am continually working on reinventing how math is presented to children. I have spent the past 8 years reading, researching and testing out my ideas, with most of my teaching pulling from the work of John Van De Walle.
John Van De Walle's book Teaching Elementary and Middle School Mathematics is a fantastic resource for math games and lessons for students. This text was used when I studied teaching mathematics in college, however in the public school world I was never allowed to incorporate any of his strategies or techniques into the classroom. I've found that ability in the private school world and am now excited to offer this to the Outschool community.
Key to Van De Walle's approach is the use of invented algorithms, estimation, problem-based inquiry, and discussion to build a solid foundation of mathematics. Students are not rushed to learn standard algorithms. I firmly believe that no child should be pushed to use a system that doesn't make sense to them. I care to create more space for a love of numbers, logic, and problem solving that comes with math, not the memorization of steps to just get an answer.
I am a lover of 1000 piece puzzles and traveling. My husband and I have a goal to spend time living abroad with our young son in a few years so we can practice our Spanish. We are life-long learners that believe in the power of self-direction and autonomy to create a happier world for all. We are also aware of our privilege in life and take lots of care to wield that with care by learning as much as we can about social justice issues facing marginalized and oppressed peoples. Reviews
Live Group Class
$60
for 6 classes1x per week, 6 weeks
50 min
Completed by 3 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 10-12
3-6 learners per class
