Quote:
Originally Posted by ckissick
My 7th grade daughter is getting more and more intimidated by algebra. When she was 10, she could multply two 3-digit numbers in her head. As she's gotten older, she's developed a math phobia or something. She just doesn't get it anymore.
Anyone know of any fun math programs or games to do at home that will help her get back on track?
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Do you and/or wife have time to spend working the problems with her? The 'trick' to math is to invest the time and do as many sample problems as possible. My son is in 7th grade and most of his text books are also online with additional samples and quizzes. The key to algebra is to start with very simple concepts (solve for a single variable) with simple numbers that don't involve tedious division or multiplication work. Focus instead on understanding what a variable actually is. Also recommend Wikipedia for simple examples.
Finally, once kids get in this level of math you want to discourage them from doing mental calculations. Too easy to make a simple arithmetic error. Better to do ALL work on paper no matter how simple the calculation. My son was like your daughter and would finish arithmetic in his head - sometime incorrectly - so that even though he knew the 'hard' concept he blew it with a simple error.