Math Anxiety

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As much as my English-oriented brain would hate to admit it, math skills are crucial for functioning in the adult world. This means that, no matter one’s personal distaste for the subject, mastering basic math skills will become a necessity at some point. Those lucky left-brained thinkers, who tend to have more of a knack for computation, analytical thinking, and logical reasoning, relish in their ability to master mathematical concepts. However, psychology research states that nearly 20% of American adults suffer from high levels of math anxiety.

If math anxiety persists over time, adult tasks such as managing time, budgeting money, organizing itineraries, following directions/recipes, remodeling a space, and even shopping can prove difficult. Therefore, it is important that students learn early on about growth mindset and methods for improving their math skills.

Mindset

Math anxiety is often a result of continued negative experiences involving math or the use of related skills. A student who repeatedly struggles with calculations begins to internalize those difficulties and associate the struggle with their own perceived inability to perform. Almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy, these students may develop a fixed mindset about their math skills, meaning that they will believe that they will never be good at math.

Teachers and parents can combat a fixed mindset by discussing the damage that negative self-talk can do. A child who constantly says, “I’m bad at math,” “I’ll never understand this,” or, “It’s too hard for me,” is only solidifying this notion of failure. Instead, model phrases that promote a growth mindset when children are exhibiting math anxiety. Phrases include:

 

  • It’s challenging, but I can do it.
  • I’ll try again.
  • Effort never fails.
  • My mistakes help me understand that I need to try a different strategy.

 

Consider mixed grouping 

When working on math concepts in the classroom, one positive way to reduce math anxiety is to utilize mixed grouping, meaning each group should include a heterogeneous mix of students based on their math capabilities. Varying the groups this way allows students to support one another in a low-pressure, collaborative setting. The higher achieving students are given the opportunity to lead, explain, strategize, and encourage. Simultaneously, the lower achieving students are able to practice their skills with peers and watch how students are successfully approaching math problems. Additionally, students who require more support are given the opportunity to take their time and ask questions in a smaller setting, as opposed to putting themselves on the spot for the whole class.

Use hands-on approaches

Another way to combat math misery is to front load the concept with fun. For instance, if children are beginning to explore fractions, the concept can be abstract and daunting. To ease anxiety, break out the baking supplies and show children how fractions are visually represented. Measuring cups provide a hands-on method for working with fractions. If children want a super chocolatey, chocolate chip cookie, present them with ½ cup of chocolate chips and ¾ cup chocolate chips. Ask which fraction is greater? Finished baking? Slice a cookie into fourths and eat one of the fourths to demonstrate subtraction.

Spicing Up Phonics: Tips for Parents Pt. II

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Phonics instruction can be quite tedious, as we have established in part one. However, it doesn’t have to be! Parents can employ the use of different games and challenges to help children build their phonics knowledge at home. Beginning with basic sounds, then corresponding letters, vowel patterns, and so on, children are able to garner more knowledge of phonics and language without the droning, repetitive instruction that we usually associate with phonics lessons in the classroom. See more strategies and activities below!

Rhymes in the car

To help children with rhyming patterns inconspicuously, parents can challenge them to a “rhyme off” to fill the time during a long car ride.

  • Allow children to choose a word; sight words are great for beginning the rhyme off as well!
  • Going back and forth, each participant must come up with a new word that rhymes with the original word.
  • If the original word is chair, participants will continue with hair, fair, pair, etc.
  • Since you are just working with sounds, allow for any and all vowel patterns that rhyme with the original word, like dare, care, bear, etc.
  • Then later on, to extend the activity, parents can show how some of the rhyming words followed a different vowel pattern of spelling.

Guess the digraph

Simply put, a digraph is a combination of two letters (di-) that make one sound. Examples are vast, but some include: ch, sh, wh, ay, th, ph, etc.

  • Parents will simply say a word that includes a digraph, such as phone.
  • The child will then say the letters that make up that digraph and isolate the sound; “phone is ph; ph says fff—.”
  • To extend the activity, challenge your child to come up with another word that includes the same digraph, such as “phony.”
  • Want even more of a challenge? Write out a word that includes a digraph and ask your child to identify the two letters that create that one sound.
  • For instance, if parents write down “chocolate,” the child would identify ch as the digraph.
  • Parents should explain that, on their own, the letter C makes its own sound; same thing with the letter H. However, in combination, the two letters create a new sound.

The new name game

This is another phonics challenge that is great for long car rides.

  • Essentially, participants follow the letters of the alphabet coming up with real people’s names for each letter.
  • It can look like this: Alex, Brennan, Creighton, David, Ethan, Felicity, Gail, etc.
  • If you want to add even more of a challenge, parents can say that names have to alternate genders, or perhaps you have to try the entire alphabet using names that are typically considered “girl names.” Amy, Brooke, Courtney, Dana, etc.

You can also modify the game for children who have not quite mastered the alphabet by simplifying the rules. Instead of going through the alphabet, choose one letter and take turns coming up with names that start with that letter.

Spicing Up Phonics: Tips for Parents Pt. I

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Phonics instruction that young learners encounter in school can unfortunately be repetitive, systematic, and downright drab. Many phonics programs that schools use to teach reading and writing acquisition are prescribed—meaning that they follow a specific, almost formulaic pattern for everyday instruction. While these programs help students memorize and familiarize themselves with letter/sound patterns, they often fail to spark imagination, creativity, and engagement. With this in mind, parents can supplement their child’s formal phonics instruction with several different activities that also allow for some fun at the same time.

“I Spy Collage”

To help children make connections between letters and their corresponding sounds, parents can use old magazines for letter/sound inspiration.

  • Allow children to choose a letter of the alphabet.
  • Using craft scissors and adult supervision, children should skim through the magazine to snip out photos of objects that begin with that phoneme or sound.
  • After snipping a solid collection of images that begin with specific sounds, children can then organize the magazine clippings into numerous different categories.
  • On one day, ask your child to sort images of vowel sounds.
  • Then ask your child to sort images into long and short vowel sounds.
  • On another day, ask your child to organize clippings in alphabet form.
  • As an extension, parents can help children come up with a picture story using the various magazine images. Children can then glue the clippings down and have a visual short story that represents their alphabet journey.

“Leap to the letter”

An engaging way to incorporate movement involves just a few household items.

  • Using colored construction paper or card stock, write down different letters of the alphabet, one letter per piece of paper.
  • Scatter the letter cards facedown around the room or backyard, making sure that the papers are trailing one another in stepping stone format. It will look like a giant game board trailing around the room.
  • Using dice, ask your child to roll, count the number, then take that same number of hops onto the colored letter cards.
  • Once they’ve taken the appropriate number of hops, ask him or her to turn over the letter card that they are standing on.
  • Your child should then make that letter sound, as in /p/, for example.
  • To extend the activity, challenge your child to find an item in the room that starts with the same sound.
  • Want even more of a challenge? Use a small chalkboard or scratch paper to keep track of each “hopped” sound. Then help your child arrange those letters into sight words.

Swat the letter

This is another fun activity that requires very little prep time and minimal materials. What parents will need are plastic magnetic letters, a magnet board or refrigerator, and a fly swatter.

  • Scramble the magnetic letters around the surface of the fridge in no particular pattern.
  • As you call out sounds, your child will take the fly swatter and swat the letter that matches the sound that they heard.
  • Parents can also increase the challenge by saying words or names, then asking the child to swat the beginning or ending sound of that word or name.

Use Student Work to Increase Motivation

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I, like many others, fondly remember the pride I felt when I walked into the classroom and saw my work hanging up on the wall. Aside from the glittery star stickers and “great job!” written in impossibly perfect teacher handwriting, the notion that my hard work was good enough to be hung on display was exceptionally satisfying. For me, that instance of recognition went a long way in terms of motivation—it solidified the belief that my effort and success mattered to someone other than myself.

As educators, we can also foster this mindset for our students. Beyond displaying student work, teachers can utilize numerous instructional strategies to highlight this work in the classroom.

Error of the day

This is one of my personal favorites because, as a self-proclaimed math loather, this exercise helps to illuminate the value of our math errors. Also, from a teacher’s perspective, the activity takes minimal prep time.

  • Teacher will provide students with a daily warm-up sheet that includes one math problem. The question should relate to a unit concept that the teacher has already taught, as to avoid discouraging students with an unfamiliar math problem.
  • Teacher will collect and sort the warm-ups into two piles: correct answers and incorrect answers, with the intent to choose an incorrect example with a common or understandable error. (Often times, these common errors are made by several students.)
  • Using a Promethean document camera, or by taking a photo of the student sample and projecting it on the board, the teacher will display a student’s incorrect warm-up. Be careful NOT to show the student’s name; the point is to highlight a common error and explain it without embarrassing anyone.
  • The teacher will use the sample to go through the problem step by step, carefully hinting at where the student took a misstep.
  • It is important that the teacher help students dissect not only where the error occurred, but also the thinking behind that error.
  • After the collaborative error analysis, the teacher should thank the anonymous student for his contribution, specifically mentioning how errors allow for growth.

Writing samples

A great way to celebrate student writing, while also discussing an essay’s strengths and weaknesses, is to ask students to create a scrap essay using various paragraphs from multiple students’ essays. The activity would look something like this:

  • After collecting essays, teacher would identify strong examples of intro paragraphs, body paragraphs, and concluding paragraphs.
  • Without labeling the samples or leaving any written feedback yet, the teacher would crop the essays into separate paragraphs and distribute them to small groups.
  • Collaboratively, students would piece together an exemplary essay using the student sample paragraphs.
  • Ideally, the puzzle-pieced essays would include multiple students’ work.
  • The activity could be extended by having students then analyze the various strengths of each group’s newly constructed essay using the assignment rubric.

Connect with parents

Another underutilized way to celebrate student work and increase motivation is to snap a quick picture of the student’s work or project and email the photo to parents. In this instance, teachers will want to be sure that the assignment has been graded and includes positive written feedback. This allows parents the opportunity to see exactly why this work sample was exemplary. Of course, any positive parent contact helps to motivate students. However, taking the extra step to display the great work to parents can go a long way.