In this video we see a classroom using mental math. I love this video and am very glad I found it! I don't remember ever really being taught mental math in school. My memory may just be bad or otherwise it wasn't something that we spent any time on. This teacher says that she uses mental math strategies with her classroom at least twice a week.
I am capable of mental math even though I was never taught it as a problem solving tool in school. That is because I was taught memorization of math problems and because as an adult I can use reasoning and my brain lets me easily figure out that 65 and 25 together make 90!
The main reason that I think mental math strategies is so important for kids to be taught is because it helps them see that they will be using that information or skill set for the rest of their lives. That may not hit home for them until they are a bit older, but it may just be enough to keep them interested in learning.
My 10 year old daughter was dying to buy a book from Amazon last week and she quickly had to try and figure out if she could afford next day shipping or if she would have to wait the normal 3-5 days! It was a struggle for her to figure out that if the book was $10.53 and the shipping was $19.95 and she only had $20 then she wouldn't be able to do the next day air. I am pretty convinced that they don't really push the whole mental math or estimation skill set in her math classes.
I have found a YouTube channel that is amazing for math. Even though she is in 5th grade and some of the math videos are of a 3rd grade classroom I think it's important for her to get back to the basics and be able to quickly figure out some of the easier problems completely in her head without using her fingers to count. There is a ton of different videos on the Teaching Channel and I will continue to use this wonderful learning tool for my kids at home.
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