Math struggles | Imamother

amother

Sun, Dec 15 2024, 8:25 pm

My second grade dd is struggling in math. The teacher wants to send her to math groups but I don’t feel like she’s giving it her all to keep her in class. As a matter of fact, I don’t feel like she’s putting in any efforts at all. I asked her by pta what she thinks cuz I see she’s struggling to do her homework so she said she’s having a hard time understanding concepts and she already asked for a slot in math groups. I feel like calling the principal to discuss it but what am I telling her? Do I say I don’t feel like this teacher is good? Obviously she’s gonna protect the teacher and encourage me to be ok with her going out. There r only a few girls going out for math and she’s the type to be very insecure about it. What would you do? Someone suggested asking the teacher to teach me what she teaches the class so I can help my daughter. Isn’t it very weird? Please help 🙏🏻

amother

Melon ↓

Sun, Dec 15 2024, 9:31 pm

Hi, I teach a similar grade/subject and feel qualified to respond.
So here are some points.

In our school, "math groups" is Title I. The weakest 4-5 students in that academic area qualify to be in the group, mostly based on standardized testing, but also teacher recommendation.

Small group instruction is a tremendous blessing for girls like your daughter who need the extra reinforcement. A classroom teacher, no matter how good she is, can not reach Tier 2 and Tier 3 students. Her goal is to reach the majority- the 80% that is okay. You are blessed to have interventionist in your school who can tailor the classes to your daughter and her needs. Much cheaper than tutoring!

Majority of the time, students do NOT feel self-conscious about being pulled out of class when they are in second grade. Most of the time it is the projection of the PARENT who feels self-conscious and thinks that their daughter feels the same way. We know it's not about you or your intelligence. Title students can have highly educated parents with masters degrees, or a father who is a beis medrash rebbe or Rosh kollel. That is no indication of the learning abilities and disabilities of their children. So its not a reflection about you, and you should not impose your insecurity on your daughter. It is a totally normal thing to get pulled our and many students appreciate the attention and prizes that they get there, which they wouldn't get in class.

All that being said, you absolutely can try reteaching/preteaching your daughter. No, it's not weird to ask for an extra math book about to be sent home (you can pay for it) and to ask the teacher to let you know how many weeks she plans to devote to a chapter. You absolutely can ask if you could try it for a month and see if the teacher seeds an improvement, and if not, dd will go to the math group. Warning: lots of kids don't like working with their parents!!!

By the way, if you want to give your daughter a HUGE boost, work with her on memorizing addition and subtraction facts within 20 (e.g. 8+7, 6+9...). Do you know the strategies such as memorizing doubles and then doubles plus one?
The next main concept in second grade math is addition with carrying and subtraction with borrowing. Both carrying and borrowing are called regrouping nowadays.

But to summarize, I don't think you should complain to the principal. Truthfully, if I were you, I would JUMP to accept any service the school is willing to offer for free. Math only gets harder. If a kid is struggling already in second grade, she won't manage at all in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.

And don't rush to bribe your daughter. If you frame the math group the proper way, without a complex, and if the interventionist is good, your daughter will be thrilled to go!

amother

Lightblue

Sun, Dec 15 2024, 9:37 pm

amother Melon wrote:

Hi, I teach a similar grade/subject and feel qualified to respond.
So here are some points.

In our school, "math groups" is Title I. The weakest4-5 students in that academic area qualify to be in the group, mostly based on standardized testing, but also teacher recommendation.

Small group instruction is a tremendous bracha for girls like your daughter who need the extra reinforcement. A classroom teacher, no matter how good she is, can not reach Tier2 and Tier3 students. Her goal is to reach the majority- the 80% that is okay. You are blessed to have interventionists in your school who can tailor the classes to your daughter and her needs. Much cheaper than tutoring!

Majority of the time, students do NOT feel self-conscious about being pulled out of class in second grade. Most of the time it is the parent who felt else self-conscious and thinks that their daughter feels the same way. We know its not about you or your intelligence. Title students can have highly educated parents with masters degrees, or a father who is a beis medrash rebbe or Rosh kollel. That is no indication of the learning abilities and disabilities of their children. So its not a reflection about you, and you should not impose your insecurity on your daughter. It is a totally normal thing to get pulled our and many students appreciate the attention and prizes that they get there, which they wouldn't get in class.

All that being said, you absolutely can try reteaching/preteaching your daughter. No, its not weird to ask for an extra math book about to be sent home (you can pay for it) and to ask the teacher to let you know how many weeks she plans to devote to a chapter. You absolutely can ask if you could try it for a month and see if the teacher seeds an improvement, and if not, dd will go to the math group. Warning: lots of kids don't like working with their parents!!!

Btw, if you want to give your daughter a HUGE boost, work with her on memorizing addition and subtraction facts within 20 (e.g. 8+7, 6+9...) Do you know the strategies such as memorizing doubles and then doubles plus one?
The next concept is addition with carrying and subtraction with borrowing.
Both carrying and borrowing are called regrouping nowadays.

But to summarize, I don't think you should complain to the principal. Truthfully, if I were you, I would jump to accept any service the school is willing to offer for free. Math only gets harder. If a kid is struggling already in second grade, she won't manage in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, etc.
And don't rush to bribe your daughter. Of you frame the math group the proper way, without a complex, and if the interventionist is good, your daughter will be thrilled to go!

I also teach math and this teacher said it 100% correctly. Every word is true.

Pre-teaching is an invaluable tool for students. I do pre-teaching for h.s. girls to ensure that they can keep up in the classroom. If you choose to try that for a month, watch videos and learn the teaching techniques and math language her teacher uses so you don't confuse her further.
Tutoring costs a fortune, so be glad the school is offering you services like that for free.

amother

↑ Melon

Sun, Dec 15 2024, 9:40 pm

amother Lightblue wrote:

Thank you, fellow teacher!!!

And yes, I agree you should watch videos online explaining common core strategies for what your daughter is learning on her grade level. Not saying you need to teach each strategy, (like personally I would choose double plus one and skip double minus one,) but it's an important background to have in order to be able to teach it well.