Questions of the Day

[apple_pathways]

Everyday at work, I compose a few questions for the kids to answer to get them started thinking about math. I always think them up about 5-10 minutes before we open, so they're often rushed. I always say that I'm going to sit down and write a bunch of questions beforehand so I don't have to scramble, but...yeah, doesn't happen.

The first question is always easy and designed for my youngest students to answer; it also bolsters the confidence of the older kids. The next couple questions vary in difficulty based on which kids I have coming that day. The last question is always the most difficult, and often tailored around the oldest/most advanced student I have that day.

Here's an example of the questions I used the other day:



(If you can't read the writing, the first bag says: "20 candies". The next bag says "2 lbs flour" and the measuring cup says "8 oz. flour". The last bag says "3 1/2 tons of gravel (!)" and the little pile of gravel says "314 lbs of gravel".)

I'm always trying to come up with new and creative math questions, and interesting concepts to explore with the kids, so if anyone has any ideas, let me know!

And if you'd like to answer the questions for a little virtual pat on the head, please feel free! (The questions are designed to use mental math, so no paper! And it's only fair to give you the supplementary information I give my students, so:

1 lb. = 16 oz.
1 ton = 2,000 lbs.)

Comments

[ladylovelace.livejournal.com]

The candy one I can do in my head.

If I really thought about it, I could probably do the other two. But I cannot make myself want to do math enough to do it.

In other words, if you can get them to actually do the problems, I figure you deserve a pat on the back.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Thanks for trying them! I really thought, right after I posted this, "No one is even going to look at these..."

When the kids are solving the problems, they have me to walk them through it; sometimes that's the most beneficial part, as they get a chance to see, step-by-step, how to work their way through a problem. I give them a little time to develop their own plan of attack before I start leading them in the right direction. (And for those who have a hard time "visualizing" or keeping multiple steps in their head, I do actually let them use paper/draw it out.)

I like getting feedback from adults on the questions, because adults are better at articulating exactly what parts of a problem they find difficult or confusing. The kids just stare at me and say, "I don't get it!"

[ladylovelace.livejournal.com]

To be fair, the part that is really getting me is the urge to convert from imperial to metric, because I am used to operating in metric weights (and imperial distances, go figure).

I remember once briefly teaching a year 6 maths class. I hope never to do it again, because I could honestly not remember what it was like not to be able to figure out what order something should be done in.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Honestly, that is the best thing about the imperial system (from my point of view as a math tutor): all of the weird numbers you can make the students work with! Those problems are just not as difficult when done in metric. (They're going to be so angry when they get to high school chemistry class and find out they didn't really need to know how many ounces were in a pound after all...)

I could honestly not remember what it was like not to be able to figure out what order something should be done in.

This is definitely one of the most challenging parts of the job, and what it took the most time for me to get used to: understanding all of the ways a math problem can be done wrong, and why a student might be confused about something that's become second nature to me. This is why, when I tutor older students in higher level math, it's only done one-on-one where I can watch them do a problem step-by-step and stop them when they go astray.

I can't imagine teaching math to a whole room full of students and trying to catch where they're going wrong.

[jacknjill270.livejournal.com]

Lol, this reminds me of just how faily I was at math in school - I can't do math in my head to save my life. You must have the patience of a saint to not only tutor kids, but in math of all subjects.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

You must have the patience of a saint to not only tutor kids, but in math of all subjects.

I've had a lot of jobs working with kids, and people always say that I must have a lot of patience. I think I am a pretty patient person, but mostly it come from years of practice; there have definitely been times where I've been tempted to slap a kid, though. What I've come to realize is this: you don't have to feel patient, you just have to act patient.

Once you make that distinction, it all becomes much easier!

[evilhippo.livejournal.com]

Brain exercise! You're much better than I am at coming up with problems on the fly. (And is that a roller-skating Z on the board behind there?) Also, is it sad that I would never have remembered how many pounds were in a ton?

I wish I had some good suggestions for questions, but I tend to be the sort of person who makes people hate word problems. I just make everything sound absurd so it's "interesting" to disguise the "boring" stuff I'm trying to explain. I'm much more used to hands-on stuff, where I can give a group of kids a bunch of supplies, stand above them and go "Okay, build me something that can hold weight but does not kill me! You have ten minutes!" (I find the "but does not kill me" stipulation to be quite important.)

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

You're close; it's a skateboarding "2"! We have a lot of really cute math pictures/cartoons up on the wall.

It is not sad that you wouldn't remember how many pounds there are in a ton; it's not an issue that often comes up. Very few people actually need to know this fact. I only know it because of my job. I also know that a furlong is equal to 1/8 of a mile. I can't even dream of the situation where I will need that interesting bit of information.

They don't need to be word questions! In fact, I'm always on the lookout for non-word problems I can put up, since so many of our kids learn better visually. A suggestion could be a cute thing to count, or an interesting math fact I could work in, or a fun visual. I try to mix things up as much as possible, if only so I don't get bored.

I also do little math activities with the kids, so if you do have any simple "hands on" activities involving math, I'm all over it. A while ago, I found this math strategy game called Nim, and now the kids are all about it. (We play it with piles of poker chips.) They love to see if they can beat me! Since I never let them win, they feel really accomplished when they do. (Ok, so sometimes they win because I'm distracted by all the kids around me shouting my name, but they don't need to know that!)

I love this impromptu building situation you describe, and your instructions! (As someone who works with kids, I am not at all surprised that you need to specify their device be non-lethal.) Sounds like fun!