Building Math Skills Article Archive

Practical advice about how to help your child improve her math skills. Fun math games, how to think mathematically, handling money, overcoming math anxiety. Find even more on building math skills at home.

• Simple Ideas To Help Overcome Math Anxiety - Some middle school children get so anxious about math, they dread going to class. Or they worry so excessively about a test, they make mistakes.
• Help Your Child Practice Interpreting Graphics - By middle school, it is highly important that your child is comfortable with graphics.
• Turn Boring Road Trips Into Fun Math Lessons - Adults use math to plan trips all the time.
• Shopping Trip Links Math Skills to Daily Life - One of the best ways to encourage learning is to connect lessons to real life.
• Help Your Middle Schooler Practice Percentages - Have you ever overtipped a waiter to avoid figuring out a percent problem?
• Budgeting Builds Math Skills - A key middle school math concept is figuring out the mean (or average) of numbers.
• Build Math Skills With Million Dollar Estimates - Many kids don’t have a sense of big numbers or large amounts of money.
• Investment Game Teaches Important Skills - Nearly every middle schooler is interested in making money.
• Games Can Help Your Child Master Math Facts - Many kids make it to middle school and don’t know their basic math facts.
• Measuring Items Teaches Ratio, Proportion - Ratio and proportion tell us how large something is in comparison with something else.
• Counting Heartbeats an Opportunity To Practice Estimation - February is American Heart Month. Challenge your child to count her heartbeat and hone her estimation skills.
• Everyday Activities Build Middle School Math Skills - Educators say games and hands-on activities are the best way for middle schoolers to learn math.
• Practice Math at the Grocery Store - A trip to the grocery store is always a learning opportunity.
• Ways To Help Your Middle Schooler Succeed in Math - Even if you can, it’s not a good idea to try to “reteach” your child what he doesn’t get in math class.
• Estimation Can Help With Solving Math Problems - Math is a subject that typically depends on precise answers. But the first step to arriving at those answers is often to look the problem over and make an “educated guess” or estimation.
• Middle School Math Mythbusters - Schools and community groups have made a real effort to encourage more students to take math each year.
• Encourage Your Teenager To Keep a Spending Notebook - Teens need help in learning how to manage their money.
• Teach Your Teen How To Keep Up With Records, File Taxes - If your teen held a paying job during the year, she’ll need to file a tax return.
• Study Tips for Math and Science Classes - In most schools, students have to take several math and science classes to graduate. Studying these subjects requires different skills than studying other subjects.
• Give Your Teen Advice to Plan Ahead for Final Math Exams - How to get ready for that big math test.