Eureka math. Is it the right way to learn math?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know specifics about Eureka, but here’s my opinion on methods in general.

Understanding the math is what’s important, and the mathematical principles are independent of method. All the methods are designed to help with understanding. If the method is not helpful with understanding the math concept, teach them whatever makes sense to you. Just make sure that whatever you teach them is mathematically correct, and that they understand WHY (the relevant math concepts) it works. Once they understand the underlying mathematic principles, the teacher should be able to explain the method. In any case, understanding the actual math is far more important than learning the procedure for a particular method.

Exactly this.
When DS was in second grade I only cared that he understood that, say, 47 plus 28 make 75. I didn’t care if he couldn’t answer specific questions about place values.
I needed him to understand that it’s 40 plus 20 plus 15 (and the matter is 10 plus 5).
We need to put oranges together with oranges (the tens) and apples together with apples (the ones).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know specifics about Eureka, but here’s my opinion on methods in general.

Understanding the math is what’s important, and the mathematical principles are independent of method. All the methods are designed to help with understanding. If the method is not helpful with understanding the math concept, teach them whatever makes sense to you. Just make sure that whatever you teach them is mathematically correct, and that they understand WHY (the relevant math concepts) it works. Once they understand the underlying mathematic principles, the teacher should be able to explain the method. In any case, understanding the actual math is far more important than learning the procedure for a particular method.

That’s cute, but that won’t work with Eureka in second grade. The direction say “solve using an algorithm” or “use a number line to….” And you can’t choose a different strategy.

DP.
I gave my child permission to skip it and just write the answer. If he could explain how he did it it was a bonus. But I didn’t require it.
Teachers gave us a hard time, I apologized and said we’d work on it but didn’t

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:23+10
2 tens 3 ones plus 1 tens
What is 2 tens and 1 tens? 3 tens
So it’s 30.
Then add 3 ones.
30+3= 33.

You call this easy?

Or 92-20
9 tens 2 ones minus 2 tens
What is 9tens minus 2tens? 7 tens
That’s 70.
Oh don’t forget to add 2 ones to that. That’s 72!

You call this easy?

At this point I showed my kid the “secret” strategy of standard algorithm.
The key is to be very clear aligning the numbers on the right
These are easy because there is no carry over.
Now, carry over is a challenge but it can be done

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does the teacher at least mark answers as correct regardless of how a student reached the answer? Best practice is not to get too hung up on the way students solve problems, but to make sure they know at least one way to do it. If the teacher is marking questions wrong for not doing it a particular way, then the teacher is not engaging properly with the curriculum.

Eureka is a curriculum that shows kids lots of ways to do arithmetic problems, lots of ways to think about what an operation means, which is confounding for some parents (and frankly some teachers too.) Most elementary math curricula do this too, including the popular homeschooling curricula, so it's not just Eureka that would be frustrating to OP. It is wholly unnecessary to get a tutor for elementary school baby math just because the school teaches a few "odd" ways of solving problems. OP can watch a few YT videos, or simply teach their child their own way of doing arithmetic.

This! Anything that helps a child understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:23+10
2 tens 3 ones plus 1 tens
What is 2 tens and 1 tens? 3 tens
So it’s 30.
Then add 3 ones.
30+3= 33.

You call this easy?

Or 92-20
9 tens 2 ones minus 2 tens
What is 9tens minus 2tens? 7 tens
That’s 70.
Oh don’t forget to add 2 ones to that. That’s 72!

You call this easy?

Isn’t this the way they all teach?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:23+10
2 tens 3 ones plus 1 tens
What is 2 tens and 1 tens? 3 tens
So it’s 30.
Then add 3 ones.
30+3= 33.

You call this easy?

Or 92-20
9 tens 2 ones minus 2 tens
What is 9tens minus 2tens? 7 tens
That’s 70.
Oh don’t forget to add 2 ones to that. That’s 72!

You call this easy?

At this point I showed my kid the “secret” strategy of standard algorithm.
The key is to be very clear aligning the numbers on the right
These are easy because there is no carry over.
Now, carry over is a challenge but it can be done

Yes! Put every value in its proper place! Then you don't need to worry about place value!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD's second grade teacher recommended getting on Youtube to watch the videos. I find the initial instruction page prior to each module helpful.

The other day, my DD spent a fair amount of time doing a simple problem 87-9 - giving me her strategies, drawing arrows, breaking things down, etc. It was like watching paint dry. I just used my fingers and was done in a few seconds.

If you or your child is getting stressed then I would get a tutor. I bet you could even find a high schooler who has been through this math and just has the patience for it.

Those kind of problems are the worst, having to borrow to subtract. Most kids this age find subtracting much harder than addition. Maybe a board game or computer game would help

Subtraction the left-to-Right Way
https://www.mathatube.com/e-left-to-right-subtraction

App

https://idevbooks.com/apps/left-to-right_subtraction.php

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:23+10
2 tens 3 ones plus 1 tens
What is 2 tens and 1 tens? 3 tens
So it’s 30.
Then add 3 ones.
30+3= 33.

You call this easy?

Or 92-20
9 tens 2 ones minus 2 tens
What is 9tens minus 2tens? 7 tens
That’s 70.
Oh don’t forget to add 2 ones to that. That’s 72!

You call this easy?

These kinds of responses always make me laugh. This is literally how addition works. Understanding these steps deeply it what makes you fluent enough to just answer the question without thinking about it in the future.

It's like strategies to learn new vocab words or another language. Of course you don't continue to (at least consciously) use them after you've fully ingrained them.

Think about the questions that specify the strategy to use as just that, strategy/method questions.

This. The "new" math is about getting a very good fundamental understanding of how numbers work and how you can operate with them. Not just the algorithm to solve a specific arithmetic thing. When you do mental math, do you imagine the numbers set up in the column and do the addition and the "carry over" or do you add up using the place values to get to the nearest 10 and then add the rest?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:23+10
2 tens 3 ones plus 1 tens
What is 2 tens and 1 tens? 3 tens
So it’s 30.
Then add 3 ones.
30+3= 33.

You call this easy?

Or 92-20
9 tens 2 ones minus 2 tens
What is 9tens minus 2tens? 7 tens
That’s 70.
Oh don’t forget to add 2 ones to that. That’s 72!

You call this easy?

These kinds of responses always make me laugh. This is literally how addition works. Understanding these steps deeply it what makes you fluent enough to just answer the question without thinking about it in the future.

It's like strategies to learn new vocab words or another language. Of course you don't continue to (at least consciously) use them after you've fully ingrained them.

Think about the questions that specify the strategy to use as just that, strategy/method questions.

I just want to learn to do it how a calculator does it, but with a far higher error rate.

A calculator or any computer uses binary, aka 1s and 0s. Feel free to work out 134 + 455 by converting it to 10000110 + 111000111.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the teacher at least mark answers as correct regardless of how a student reached the answer? Best practice is not to get too hung up on the way students solve problems, but to make sure they know at least one way to do it. If the teacher is marking questions wrong for not doing it a particular way, then the teacher is not engaging properly with the curriculum.

Eureka is a curriculum that shows kids lots of ways to do arithmetic problems, lots of ways to think about what an operation means, which is confounding for some parents (and frankly some teachers too.) Most elementary math curricula do this too, including the popular homeschooling curricula, so it's not just Eureka that would be frustrating to OP. It is wholly unnecessary to get a tutor for elementary school baby math just because the school teaches a few "odd" ways of solving problems. OP can watch a few YT videos, or simply teach their child their own way of doing arithmetic.

The curriculum requires that the kid learn and use all the methods; later, it allows the kid to use whatever method works best for them. The point is to develop the deep number sense first. Get a tutor who understands the Eureka system and terminology. Watch the videos. Use Zearn, if available, as it's keyed to Eureka.

The teacher shouldn't be too rigid about it. Even if the curriculum has a lofty goal of making every student understand a dozen different ways of subtracting numbers, that's not what happens in practice. In practice, a handful of kids in the class (usually the ones who are labeled gifted and the ones whose parents have been accelerating them) will get all the different techniques, the rest will manage to pick up a couple of techniques. Whichever methods the teacher spends the most time on are the ones that will stick. Sometimes the teacher doesn't even have enough time to properly teach every single technique so they just focus on a few. Getting a tutor is overkill unless your child has a learning disability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:23+10
2 tens 3 ones plus 1 tens
What is 2 tens and 1 tens? 3 tens
So it’s 30.
Then add 3 ones.
30+3= 33.

You call this easy?

Or 92-20
9 tens 2 ones minus 2 tens
What is 9tens minus 2tens? 7 tens
That’s 70.
Oh don’t forget to add 2 ones to that. That’s 72!

You call this easy?

I don't know Eureka Math, but if your child isn't understanding this use manipulatives or other visuals. Expecting them to track all that language mentally is silly.

https://www.amazon.com/Didax-Educational-Resources-Unifix-Cubes/dp/B00TP1UA00