The Hoss Herald
March 8, 2011
Parent Info:
I am sending math papers home this
week that need to be signed. Here’s why:
I have begged, pleaded, scolded, and
even bribed the children to use specific
skills and strategies on their math to help
them become more successful with less
“silly” errors. Unfortunately, many of my
students are either not taking me
seriously, don’t believe me, or just plain
refuse to follow these suggestions.
Because of this, there are numerous
errors that could’ve been avoided! I’m a
bit frustrated as we’re coming to the end
of the year and those EOG’s. These tests
are long and tedious, and the use of
these strategies will help them make
fewer errors, especially toward the end of
these long test sessions.
I am asking you to speak to your child
about the importance of using these
strategies consistently in their
homework, classwork and tests.
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Math Strategies
Underline/circle key words and
information in EVERY problem
and in the directions.
Pull out the numbers and write
them separately from the words.
Look for key words like more
than, less than, the same,
difference, equally, etc. to tell
what operation to use.
Write the equation problem out
completely, even when using a
calculator.
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Use estimation to get an idea of
what your answer should be-and
if off, check over your work.
Draw pictures, make charts,
draw graphs, etc, to help figure
out the answer.
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Reading strategies exist as well. So
many of our students are fantastic
readers, but make so many silly mistakes
because they will not use strategies we
work on in class. These mistakes are
easily avoided!
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Read the information/selection
carefully.
After looking over the questions,
go back and find any important
words that catch your eye.
As you answer the questions, go
back into the text and find the
answer if possible, or clues that
help you discover the answer.
Cross out “silly” answers and then
choose the best answer from those
left.
Use context clues to help you
figure out words you are not
familiar with.
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As you can see, there are many different strategies
that your child can use to help them become more
successful in testing and classwork situations. I
am hopeful this information will help you and them
as we finish up our busy year.
Thanks for your help and continued support!!!!