For many students, math can create an abundance of hidden anxieties. Many children will dismiss math as "stupid" if they have any difficulty or frustration with the topics. As a parent or a teacher, you may find it hard to motivate students to complete math worksheets. Here are some tips to help your students tackle math and overcome anxieties.
1. Keep a positive attitude.
Many parents and teachers are anxious about math themselves, either because they are unsure of how to teach it properly or because they themselves were poor math students. Children can pick up on these emotions easily, so keep your tone and your attitude positive.
2. Make sure the child understands the assignment.
For homework or classroom printable worksheets, if you see students struggling, ask them to explain what the assignment is or how they should complete the particular problem. You should be able to gauge by the response whether or not they fully understand, or if they need further assistance and explanation. Parents may want to look over homeschool worksheets to make sure that the assignments are being done correctly.
See our Math Worksheets
3. Explore math in your day to day routines.
Elementary school children are well aware of their daily routines, and it is easy to incorporate math into their everyday lives. For example, you can use the minutes left on the clock until lunchtime as an exercise for subtraction, or multiplying the number of boys and girls in the class.
4. Explain math as a way to solve problems.
While math does utilize the methods of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, it is also so much more than these concepts. It can be used to solve problems. Explain to your child how math works to solve different problems, such as knowing how many pieces of cake you need to cut. Go beyond printable worksheets and explore likenesses and differences in your daily routine. This will demonstrate the value of math in their every day lives.
5. Get the kids talking.
Ask your child to complete math problems by talking through the steps. This will allow you to see exactly where his or her train of thought is and where there might be confusion. 6. Teach money skills Even young kids understand that things cost money. By getting them a piggy bank, you can use money as a way to teach counting, addition, and subtraction skills. Older kids can even use fractions and percentages when trying to determine how much money they have saved up towards a desired item. For example, if a movie they want costs $20, and they have saved up $8, they have saved up 2/5 of the amount, or 40%.
7. Teach time.
Both digital and analog clocks can be useful tools for teaching your child time. Discuss seconds, minutes, hours, and days.
8. Make math fun.
You can combine teacher worksheets with games to make math more interesting. Play games with flash cards that use different math skills as a way to help your student practice.
9. Computers make useful tools.
Today's students are much more comfortable and confident on the computer than their parents were at the same age. There are a variety of computer games that incorporate math skills. Older students may be excited about spreadsheets or calendars as a way to practice math.
10. Parents and teachers should maintain communication.
Teaching math relies on both the teacher and the parents to help the students learn the skills that they need. By keeping clear communication about the types and frequency of homework assignments, teachers can help identify problems early, working together with parents to solve the issues.
Playing the literary detective, Zacks takes us through the sordid tale. We know that "Over the centuries, novelists, relentless treasure hunters, and even historians have stoked [Captain Kidd's] pirate legend." Now, with this book, we not only get the story from the people who were there, but also from great writers of the 17th century. Zacks covers every angle to give us new insight into the man behind the legend: Captain Kidd.
The Mission at Sea
The mission itself seems rather straightforward. Captain Kidd was commissioned to capture pirate ships for a group of investors, who provided him with the finest cannon-fitted ship (the "Adventure Galley"), a crew, supplies, and a deadline. His job was to capture the ships, then bring the cargo back for his investors to divvy up. They would keep the greater share of the proceeds for themselves, and leave a portion for Kidd and his crew.
In accepting the mission, Captain Kidd had quite a lot to gain (his share of the proceeds), but he also had quite a lot to loose. When he left on his mission in 1696, he was already one of the wealthiest men in New York, and his investors had forced him to sign a bond.
According to Zacks, Captain Kidd would loose almost everything, and would possibly even be put in debtor's prison if he didn't bring back the booty on the agreed-upon schedule. But, as Zacks repeatedly points out, he didn't think he could fail. Even when his men mutinied, when he was low on food and supplies, and when his ship was in bad shape (leaking badly, and falling apart because they'd been in such a hurry to get the ship ready), he continued to believe that he would succeed in his mission.
The Legend
Legend has it that Captain Kidd was a bloody murderer, thief, and scoundrel. Zacks doesn't dispute the fact that Kidd murdered a man. He killed his gunner the first time his crew mutinied, which stopped their revolt for a time. Beyond that act, and some errors in judgment, Zacks maintains that much of Kidd's career has been blown way out of proportion.
Zacks says, "Captain Kidd has gone down in history as America's most ruthless buccaneer, fabulously rich, burying treasure up and down the eastern seaboard." As a boy, Zacks says that he too dreamed of Kidd as "fierce, mustachioed, downing rums, slicing the air with his cutlass." Other writers have helped to add a flare to the legend as well.
Washington Irving described Kidd as "somewhat of a trader, something more of a smuggler with a considerable dash of the pickaroon."
But, how can we not imagine such wonderfully awful things about the pirate. It's such a good story, when you think about it. And, what writer wouldn't pick up on the drama of the tale, even if it's not based on anything resembling fact. We want to find our treasure map, even though Zacks says that no such thing has ever been discovered by scholars. Perhaps our imaginations are enough. Not all treasures are gold.
