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MathFour is Back!
For a while, a long while, I let this math blog just sit. I didn’t want to delete it. I spent too much time on it and I knew it was full of great stuff that was still being used. But I wasn’t in love with writing on it. In my lethargy, the hackers and
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When to Give a Kid A Calculator
When we teach kids how to drive, we give them a few months in the classroom so they can learn the basics of driving and the rules of the road. Nobody in their right mind puts a teenager behind the wheel and says, while flying down the road, “Now, the brake pedal is the one
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3 Places to See the Coordinate Plane in Action
I was browsing through the book Family Math and found a nifty game called Hurkle. It goes a little something like this: The coordinate “space” is around too. This made me think of the conversation I had with a neighbor the other day while walking our children to the park. When Scotty beams someone in
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1 Word to Eliminate from Your Teaching Vocabulary: Just
Just get rid of it!
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How To Teach Algebraic Closure
Thanks to Kellie D for this question: “How do I know if a set is closed under the rule of addition, same question for multiplication?” Closure under addition or multiplication is a concept from Abstract Algebra that’s taught in not-so-abstract Algebra classes. It can be intuitive, if taught properly. You first have to start with
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Confessions of a Calculator Addict
I remember being allowed in Jr. High to use the calculator to “check my work.” Soon after I learned that the books in High School had the answers in the back! It was like condoned cheating! How could I go wrong with the magic box and the answers given to me straight from the publisher?
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How to Know When a Kid is Confused
Listening to the words won’t tell you if a kid is confused in math – but watching their faces will. Here’s an example.
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7 Real “How to Succeed in Math” Tips
Here are some tips that math students can and will use – not pie-in-the-sky tips made up by an educator that nobody really uses!
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How to Use Prime Factors to Cancel Fractions
I previously posted about prime factors and about using them in multiplication. Now we’ve got fractions to handle. Before we get in too deep, first let me note the main reason why we do this with arithmetic. In algebra, students will be asked to take a rational expression, factor it and reduce it like this:
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How to Remember Exponent Rules without Brain Ooze
Exponent rules are hard. Well, they are hard to remember, anyhow. But there’s an easy way that won’t make your brain ooze – and that’s doing a mini-experiment each time you have to deal with them.
About MathFour.com
I’m Bon Crowder and the photos above are both of me – in 1989 and today. I’m a Generation X mom of Generation Z kids. I began peer tutoring in high school in 1984.
MathFour.com is the “today” version of me helping peers be comfortable in math. If you’re a Gen-X parent, you’re in the right place!
Wanna connect? Give me a call at 713-557-8048.