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Elementary School-Aged Kids
Reply to "Why is everything so mediocre around me?(Warning: long rambling post)"
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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have a first grader. I’m curious with the math discussion above. Here’s what DS7 brought home in his most recent unit assessment. What do you think, DCUM? To me this seems more like a test of reading and following directions, not a math skills test. What 7 or 8 year old doesn’t know what a triangle or rectangle is? Q1 (Given: page full of shapes) 1. Color the triangles purple 2. Color the hexagon green 3. Color the rhombuses red 4. Color the rectangles orange Q2 Sara says this shape is a triangle. Is she right? Circle yes or no. How do you know? (Given: picture of a circle) Q3 draw a shape with 4 corners and 4 sides that are all the same length. What is the name of your shape? Q4 (similar to Q1) Put a circle around the cube. Draw a red line under the cylinder. [/quote] Sounds like first grade in FCPS. In second grade they finally introduce a few 3D shapes.[/quote] This is an example of people who don't understand teaching pedagogy getting mad that the homework is "too simple" because you don't understand what it is trying to teach. Let's just take one of the questions here: [i]Q2: Sara says this shape is a triangle. Is she right? Circle yes or no. How do you know? (Given: picture of a circle)[/I] So you look at this and say omg what first grader doesn't know the difference between a triangle and a circle, and conclude it's remedial. But you miss that this question is not just asking a child to identify a circle and a triangle. It's presenting a falsehood (Sara says the circle is a triangle) and prompting the child to explain WHY it is false. The goal is for the child to identify the differences between a triangle and a circle in a way that a younger child would probably lack the vocabulary and reasoning skills to do. A weak answer to this question is "because it is a circle." A good answer is "because it is round with one side, and a triangle has three flat sides" or "because it doesn't have any corners." The goal is to get children to start thinking about the properties of different shapes and how they are different or similar, in preparation for more advanced geometry where they will learn the words for those properties as well as how to measure them. Notice in Q3 that a child could draw a square but could also draw a rhombus without 90 degree angles, but a rectangle would be incorrect. That is nuance that many 1st graders have not mastered. This is where parents often struggle with "new math." There is an emphasis on deeper understanding at an earlier age, and it comes off as remedial because most adults are used to early grade math where you are memorizing math facts and the goal is to produce the correct math fact when prompted. But this worksheet is asking the child to demonstrate understanding of math facts and use reasoning to language to do so. It's more advanced than the work I did in 1st grade math. If mastered, it will set a kid up to do more complex math by late elementary and middle school, because a child who performs this worksheet perfectly will have demonstrated a deeper mastery of geometric concepts than simply identifying a shape by sight.[/quote] And who, exactly, is teaching the kids these deep mastery concepts? Because they aren't being taught. When my kids are asked to explain their thinking - which is often - with worksheets like this we usually have to go to Khan Academy, get the 3 minute video that directly explains the concept clearly, and then the kid can explain Sal Khan's explanation as their thinking. And yeah, then they get it sure. I'm have no problems with the new math. I understand it just fine. I have a problem with [i]how[/i] it's typically taught. There's a big difference between, say, Singapore Math which often uses new math concepts, and the way FCPS teachers expect "inquiry" to give deep understanding after a mere five minute intro to a topic.[/quote] PP here. My child's 1st grade teacher is absolutely teaching these concepts in class. I know she is asking the right questions and guiding kids towards this level of thinking because I see it when I work with my child at home. I am sure it sinks in for some kids and not for others, depending both on natural aptitude and other factors like attention span and a child's readiness for school generally (many children are distract and unfocused at school, for a wide variety of reasons). If there is something she isn't getting, then *I* can talk it through with her, which is my job as her parent in supporting her education. I could also enlist a tutoring program but I personally have not found that to be necessary. If you want to send your kid to Kahn Academy for this, go ahead. The point is, this worksheet was posted in the thread of how remedial a first grader's work is, and it doesn't show that. Another poster called it "Sesame Street level." Well, one, Sesame Street is a pretty good show and actually does encourage preschool age kids to start thinking critically about stuff like the properties of shapes. But two, it's obvious to me that the worksheet in question is asking a first grader to do grade-appropriate work, including the ability to both understand AND explain the properties of different shapes. Some of y'all want it both ways. You'll dismiss work that seems to "easy" because you want your kids doing algebra in 1st grade (mostly for bragging rights, I believe), but then when it is pointed out that this "easy" work is meant to ensure kids have deep knowledge of fundamental concepts, you're yelling about how no one is teaching it. But it is being taught, by teachers, in public schools. Some kids aren't getting it because they are not getting the preparation and support they need at home in order to get it. And meanwhile we have a bunch of competitive, overbearing parents who want to complain that it's not challenging enough. What are teachers supposed to do? This is the curriculum. It is age appropriate and sufficiently challenging, and will lay a strong foundation for future work. Support your kids in learning it. Stop whining that it's not advanced enough when you can't even accurately identify how advanced it actually is.[/quote]
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