Is this problem too hard for a second grader?

[Anonymous]

6 pages in and people are not noticing that the question is wrong. Or is it supposed to be a trick? She wants to give everyone 5. There are 25 people and 100 candies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6 pages in and people are not noticing that the question is wrong. Or is it supposed to be a trick? She wants to give everyone 5. There are 25 people and 100 candies.

Many people pointed it out, including the first poster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
OP here - Let me be clear - this was NOT homework. This was done in class, with no assistance (30 kids in class), and she did not finish it, so it was sent home for her to finish.

I disagree with you that it is OK to struggle - if a child is asked to do a problem and doesn't have the tools to do it, it only leads to frustration. My DD did not feel good about getting the right answers. She said it was hard, and by hard she meant tedious and boring. She now hates math. So she isn't getting any pride from this at all.

OP, i haven't read all the responses, but I have a second grader, fourth, and sixth. I also have a background in education. I think this problem is entirely appropriate for class and/or homework--and all your child's struggle means is that she needs a little more practice. At this age, most kids intuitively find working with multiples of ten to be fairly easy. Again, if your child does not, she needs some more practice. I would work with her at home using manipulatives. Get a hundred MnMs and have her divide them up in many different ways. Or use an abacus. Or pennies and her dolls. If the teacher sent this classwork home, it probably means you child was having more trouble than expected.

For what it's worth, my problem with common core is not that it starts with the concepts--i think most people would agree that that is the way to go--but that it refuses to let them go once the child has mastered them. The ridiculous division algorithm that gets taught these days is the perfect example of how something straightforward and simple can get turned into something tedious and unnecessarily labored, all in the name of reiterating the concept. I think that especially kids who are talented at math are done a disservice by a lot of what the common core teaches--but NOT by OP's example, which I see as a perfectly sound way to work with a second grader.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6 pages in and people are not noticing that the question is wrong. Or is it supposed to be a trick? She wants to give everyone 5. There are 25 people and 100 candies.

Didn't the very first PP notice? I just assumed that OP wrote five instead of four and that there was no reason to point it out. It has no bearing on the question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is the stupid new way they teach math now.

They should be memorizing the facts first the way math has always been taught.

I am sorry. Where's the proof in American education and worldwide standings, and our overall success in math, that shows that the old way actually worked?

I agree with both of you, PPs. The old way didn't work, but will the new way? When did the change it? I have 20- year olds at work who can't figure out basic math.

OP, I think kids get it that the candies are divided between kids or whatever the problem is. They get it! There is no need to have them draw up 100 candies for more than once. They get the concept even with 20 candies. I'd be tired too when drawing the 80th candy. I feel like there's a lot of playing around and not enough memorizing. I had the times table memorized, my 4th grader doesn't. I think he does fine on the first half, for 2nd half he has to think to come up with the answer.
In my experience American kids do and see so much more than we ever did, but they were still bad at math in college. We just had pen, paper and chalk blackboard back at home. We never saw a worksheet or multiple choice question.
My kid is in 4th grade and his math homework has him do the same thing over and over again. He got it, let's move on.
We on the other hand had the teacher recite the problem. We had to pick out the numbers from the story and makes sure the answer makes sense. For what it's worth, my country is near top 10 in math according to Pisa. We even beat Finland.
I was in humanities class in high school. We only had 3 math classes a week, so I'd say I know only middle school math. But at work I'm asked to help every time somebody can't figure out how to calculate something. As I'm showing them how to do it, I do tell them the rules. So the rules have stuck with me. We learned nothing extra, there were no nice colored pictures on the math book. We just learned the foundation, the main rules and we learned them well. Maybe there's too much extra stuff in math curriculum and kids can't figure out what's important and worth knowing or memorizing.
Sorry for being all over the place, but I'm really interested in finding out where does the US math curriculum go wrong. I just ordered my kid's math book and I will bring one from Europe.

You already have the answer as to why you were able to LEARN math.