Helping with Homework

Parents and guardians are an invaluable resource to the district if their knowledge, good intentions, and caring can be channeled to be compatible with the problem- centered approach of CMP.

In helping children learn, a parent's or guardian's first goal should be to assist their children in figuring out as much as they can for themselves. They can help by asking questions that guide them, without telling them what to do. Good questions and good listening skills will help students make sense of mathematics, build self- confidence, and encourage mathematical thinking and communication. A good question opens up a problem and supports different ways of thinking about it.

A list of such questions is available at Families, along with background information about the curriculum. This site can help parents and guardians to have meaningful mathematical conversations with their children. The Web site also offers specific mathematical information. A vocabulary list with examples to illuminate meaning and use of new vocabulary and example solutions of homework exercises are just two of the aids that parents and guardians will find at this site.

Parents and guardians are some of the most knowledgeable experts in their child's universe. Their expertise may be in the mathematical ideas, or in the learning process itself. For example, they can help with homework by learning how to scaffold a Problem for a child, without taking away all the gains to be made from the student's individual struggle. For more suggestions on how to help your child with homework and for help with a specific unit visit Families.