Speaking of not teaching things kids have to unlearn later, I’ve often wondered why we don’t just start teaching math with the expectation that you solve for “x”.
i.e. Instead of
2 + 3 =
Write
2 + 3 = x
This would prime the child to expect that math is about finding an unknown and you’ve already introduced the unknown that will be most prominent in their academic career. This will also reduce the steps necessary when teaching how to balance an equation as you no longer have the “well actually you were always solving for ‘x’ we just didn’t write it, so you didn’t know, also we’re never going to use ‘x’ for multiplication again.” stage.
But I’m not a teacher, parent, or child psychologist and this is just my blathering hypothesis based on watching my peers struggle with math for years.
The former has the advantage that you can just write the answer in the same line on the worksheet. But you could maybe introduce the latter early as an interim stage to avoid learning everything at once.
2 + 3 = xx=
Might confuse first graders but work at a later stage. My only expertise is that I’m a former child so take this with a grain of salt
2 + 3 = ___ or 2 + ___ = 5 and then later seamlessly transitioning to “2 + 3 = z, write down z:” or “2 + t = y, where y = 5. write down t:”
because it just seems so natural to identify these letters with natural things, such as numbers of beer bottles or cookies. kids typically giggle over these things because they think i’m making it up to be funny for their entertainment.
Speaking of not teaching things kids have to unlearn later, I’ve often wondered why we don’t just start teaching math with the expectation that you solve for “x”.
i.e. Instead of
Write
This would prime the child to expect that math is about finding an unknown and you’ve already introduced the unknown that will be most prominent in their academic career. This will also reduce the steps necessary when teaching how to balance an equation as you no longer have the “well actually you were always solving for ‘x’ we just didn’t write it, so you didn’t know, also we’re never going to use ‘x’ for multiplication again.” stage.
But I’m not a teacher, parent, or child psychologist and this is just my blathering hypothesis based on watching my peers struggle with math for years.
The former has the advantage that you can just write the answer in the same line on the worksheet. But you could maybe introduce the latter early as an interim stage to avoid learning everything at once.
2 + 3 = x x =Might confuse first graders but work at a later stage. My only expertise is that I’m a former child so take this with a grain of salt
I’ve taken accustomed to writing
2 + 3 = ___or2 + ___ = 5and then later seamlessly transitioning to “2 + 3 = z, write downz:” or “2 + t = y, wherey= 5. write downt:”because it just seems so natural to identify these letters with natural things, such as numbers of beer bottles or cookies. kids typically giggle over these things because they think i’m making it up to be funny for their entertainment.