With the nation’s emphasis on statewide testing, administrators and teachers are increasingly aware of the importance boosting student achievement in math. Educators are working to increase the quality of the math curriculum, improve instruction to reach struggling students, and devote more time to math in the busy school day. It also is important to involve parents in their children’s math education in positive ways to increase the likelihood that students are motivated to succeed in this critical subject.
Four elementary schools in the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) shared information on how they organized family math nights in different ways. They all had the goal of helping families and students experience the practical and fun aspects of math education.
Participants of Passport to the World of Math, conducted by the Action Team for Partnerships (ATP) at Suring Elementary School in Suring WI, traveled the world of math together. Families were given a “passport” and visited various stations to complete practical math activities. They estimated their weight, counted jumps per minute, completed math games, guessed the number of candies in 12 jars, and more. All of the activities emphasized that math is applicable to real-life situations. Their passports were stamped each time they completed an activity. With a certain number of stamps, each family received a goodie bag.
Conococheague Elementary School in Hagerstown, MD, conducted Family Math Night to teach parents and children math games. Teachers made the games that focused on skills that students were learning in class. Each family received a copy of a game to use at home. Participants said that the evening was fun, educational, and strengthened home-school relationships.
The Action Team for Partnerships at Emma K. Doub Elementary School, a school serving grades 3-6 in Hagerstown, MD, partnered with its feeder school serving grades K-2 to hold Math Game Night. A local merchant donated math games to the school, which teachers then adapted to match skills previously taught in class at different grade levels. Attendees played many games that ranged from easy skills for young students to advanced multiplication in the older grades. Parents left the event feeling comfortable about playing the games with their children at home and students left knowing that math really was fun!
Math for Families Night at Rolling Terrace Elementary School in Takoma Park, MD, had an agenda filled with pizza, performances, and puzzles. Students performed math-related skits and then, with their families, completed hands-on math activities. In one activity 32,000 cubes were used in a math game. Parents learned how to reinforce math topics at home and observed how their children learn.
Family Math Nights are one way to bring families together to learn that math is important and enjoyable. All of the above events linked to the math curriculum, were scheduled at convenient times for most families, and provided materials to reinforce math skills at home. Other strategies, including the NNPS TIPS-Math Interactive Homework process, also can be implemented to help all families increase students’ math skills. Schools that report the greatest success in math achievement include subject-specific math involvement activities in their action plans for partnerships every year.
For complete summaries of the activities in this article and other ideas for family involvement in math, see the collections of Promising Partnership Practices on the NNPS website at www.partnershipschools.org. Click on Success Stories In the Spotlight. Also see the TIPS section on the website.
Darcy J. Hutchins
dhutchins@csos.jhu.edu