So many times parents tell me that they don't understand what we are learning in school. They say they want to help their children but don't know where to start. I am going to put together a folder that they kids can take home and leave it there. This will allow parents to have a resource for homework. I am going to include the following -measurement chart - divisibility rules -multiplication flash cards Does anyone have any other suggestions on what I should include?
Geometry cheat sheet! Label all of the lines, solids and 2-d figures. And also formulas for area and perimiter!
A ruler of some kind - so many times I have heard that a child could not do their measurement hw because there was no ruler in the house (and I work in a well-to-do area!)
Check to see if your math curriculum comes with a resource guide. I know that saxon comes with a little booklet which I copy for my students and it has lots of formulas and rules as well as a multiplication table. Also, liquid measurement and unit conversions (cm to meters) could be included as well as the properties of numbers.
I always request to keep the TAKS Mathmatics chart that the students use during their TAKS test (just ask test coordinator/principal after the TAKS tests the year before; the charts are just thrown away anyways after the tests). I pass these out, in plastic protective sheets, the first week of school (students put in their binders). This gives the students and parents basic facts and formulas, plus kids get practice how to use the chart before the big test. As I teach new concepts, or review old ones, I have them write on the chart some of the following things - odd and even numbers, numbers that round up/stay the same, the first 20 prime numbers, place value chart, a mock fraction showing a numerator/denominator, common phrases that tell the student what operation to use in a word problem, a metric conversion chart - i use a little silly sentence that the kids memorize and have to use. I think this is about it. I know some of these things are concepts they should know and have down by the time they come in 5th grade, but I still have students who can't remember what an even number is...extremely scary!
In The Organized Teacher the author suggests the following on an Intermediate math folder: pictures of different fractions (basic ones) units of measure what different money looks like on heads and tails side multiplication table (in case no calc or not allowed) geometric forms (pyramid, cube, rectangular prism, cone, sphere, cylinder) Place value chart Formulas to find area of triangles, rectangles, etc types of lines like line segments, rays, parallel different types of triangles (icocoleses, etc) geometric shapes (parallelogram, etc) angles If you are interested in this, I highly recommend the book. There is a reproducible on pg 169 that you can place in the students folders.
What about those math cheat cheats in the dollar section of target? There's some algebra stuff in there, but you could use a sharpie to cross it out. They're laminated and hole-punched. I almost bought them.
