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November 16, 2007
Connor's Math Work 2007/11/16
I had given Connor the problems from Dolciani 1-7, p28, odd problems in parts A and B and all part C problems. The basic topic is inverse operations, and Connor had no problem with simple, one-step examples (part A). Part B, though, flummoxed him entirely, for two reasons: he did not check his work, and he tends to not work the problem completely. For example:
3q + 9 = 27
He sees to divide by 3, and gets q + 9 = 9 — in other words, having divided the first term by 3, he forgets to divide the entire side out. It's mainly, I think, because he won't write out his work; he wants to do everything in his head. Thus, he makes simple, careless mistakes. So I've given Connor all the part B problems to redo, and the part C problems, which he did not do at all.
Steph and I talked about putting aside a given time of day, after work and before dinner, for math with Connor, and I really don't see an alternative. Connor will delay and delay until forced to do the work, and then will rush through it as quickly as possible. Since the lesson explanations are short, averaging about 15 minutes (Dolciani takes things in small chunks), that would give plenty of time for working the problems right then.
Posted by jeff at November 16, 2007 7:24 PM
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