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Math homework (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/mildlyinfuriating@lemmy.world
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Measurement homework in a math textbook... horribly out of scale.

Measurement homework in which 10 centimeter cubes are >11cm long
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[–] 20 points 1 month ago (6 children)

Having taught math to young kids, I used cubes at the beginning to give a real feel to the numbers. Having tangible items to play with gave them a real world demonstration of how numbers work.

And when the kids grasped the physical manipulation, I would transition to paper exercises like you are looking at. And I would call those squares "cubes." because doing so linked the physical with the abstract. And for some students, to suddenly switch terms could be confusing at first.

Teaching is about linking back to things the student already knows and is comfortable with.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    Maybe this assignment was meant to be done with those same cubes. Like physically placing them in the boxes.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago

    Nope. The work assignment is the transition counting a tangible 3D item to counting a 2D picture. The next step is to go from the 2D picture to using just the numbers. And all the while they are learning to use counting and basic addition and subtraction. We are teaching from real world items to more and more abstract ideas.

    Remember: The numbers are real, the exact units don't matter.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago (1 child)

    6-12 are in Piagets “concrete operational” stage. They need manipulatives, things they can touch. Like you can do algebra with them - you just need to show them the explicit comparison with a scale and even ideally have them physically manipulate a scale to solve for x.

    Even a lot of teens/I suspect many adults aren’t able to operate fully in “formal operations” mode.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago

    Sadly, I think there is a lot of truth to that. They don't develop an interest in math because they don't know how they are going to use the math. So the "formal operations" thought process is never taken aboard and they lose what little they did have due to lack of practice.

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