Helping at Home

Parents ask how they can help their children with mathematics at home. It can be hard not to "tell" your children how to do the math even if you want your children to figure it out for themselves. some of the math may even look unfamiliar. But you can help by asking question that guide your children without telling them what to do.

Good questions--and good listening--will help your children make sense of the mathematics, build their confidence, and encourage mathematical thinking and communication.

A good question opens up a problem and supports different ways of thinking about it. Here are some you might try; notice that none of them can be answered with simple "yes" or "no".

Getting Started
	What do you know?
	What might you need to find out?
	How might you begin?
While "Working"
	How can you organize your information?
	Can you make a drawing (model) to explain your thinking?
	Are there other possibilities?
	What would happen if ... ?
	Can you describe the approach (strategy) you're developing to solve this?
	What do you need to do next?
	Do you see any patterns? ... relationships?
	Can you make a prediction?
	Why did you ... ?
	What assumptions are you making?
Reflecting about the Solution
	Is your solution (conclusion) reasonable?
	How did you arrive at your answer?
	Can you convince me your solution makes sense?
	What did you try that didn't work?
Responding
	Why did you think of that?
	Tell me more.
	Please explain it in a different way.
	Can you convince me?
	Is there another way? ... another possibility?

Your response is as important a your initial questions. Try to avoid stopping as soon as you hear the "right" answer. Responses like the ones above give your children a chance to clarify their thinking.