My Teacher Resources on TpTCollaborating with teacher colleagues over the years has inspired me to create and adapt documents and activities for my own classroom. Perhaps I have some resources you might be able to use. I have started uploading documents, card matches and other resources to the site called "Teacher Pay Teachers." Please check it out and pass it along to other high school math teachers who may be interested in "not reinventing the wheel" and using already prepared resources or adapting resources for your own style.
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Parents
How can parents assist their student in being successful in mathematics?
1) Encourage your student to talk directly to the teacher when they are struggling. Teachers generally want to help students succeed. Students need to take ownership and initiative.
2) Address questions, problems and concerns immediately when they arise. Don't hesitate or the problems will grow.
3) Provide a quiet environment free of distractions for your student to complete work at home.
4) Encourage your student to seek help outside of class by working with the teacher or by working with friends. Students can learn a lot by working with friends in a study group and talking about math in their own language.
5) Find a tutor to work with your student to provide a new perspective and explain concepts in different ways that may help your student make the necessary connections to be successful.
6) Be a risk taker and read through the directions and the problem and try to solve the problem with your child rather than immediately telling your child "I can't do math." If the content is not higher level math like Calculus and you can read ... I bet you can help. Give it a try.
1) Encourage your student to talk directly to the teacher when they are struggling. Teachers generally want to help students succeed. Students need to take ownership and initiative.
2) Address questions, problems and concerns immediately when they arise. Don't hesitate or the problems will grow.
3) Provide a quiet environment free of distractions for your student to complete work at home.
4) Encourage your student to seek help outside of class by working with the teacher or by working with friends. Students can learn a lot by working with friends in a study group and talking about math in their own language.
5) Find a tutor to work with your student to provide a new perspective and explain concepts in different ways that may help your student make the necessary connections to be successful.
6) Be a risk taker and read through the directions and the problem and try to solve the problem with your child rather than immediately telling your child "I can't do math." If the content is not higher level math like Calculus and you can read ... I bet you can help. Give it a try.
Hey Calculus Students! What do you need to do to be successful in this new world of Calculus?
1) THINK CRITICALLY by engaging with material in such a way that you make connections between concepts and can draw conclusions. Problems that we solve in Calculus will require processes involving many steps and you have to know which way to go when not explicitly told.
2) READ CRITICALLY by pulling apart the written words and connecting them to concepts, strategies and processes necessary to reach the solution. Again, the path you take to solve a problem is your responsibility and not always explicitly shown to you. But as we do more problems you should start to recognize what direction to go. Learn to recognize what questions are asking of you. Always do what is asked and be sure you answer the question that is asked. 3) MAKE BEAUTIFUL WORK: Is the work you show organized, flowing logically on your paper, well-labeled and easy to follow? Or is your work random stuff written down without a clear path from start to finish, without labels to know what expressions represent? You may have all of the necessary knowledge in your head but if you cannot communicate it in your written work, that knowledge is useless. Communication is an extremely important skill that you must master in order to be successful in Calculus. The sign of a mature Calculus brain is clear & effective mathematical communication. Step up your game if you are not making beautiful work and start making beautiful work a habit. 4) 100% ATTENDANCE for class is the easiest way to stay on top of new material. While in class you must interact with material through class notes, discussion, and group-work in such a way that you maximize your learning & understanding the first time you see the material so that future interaction with the material becomes refined, fluent, efficient and accurate. You do not want to be learning the material on your own and always in a position of digging yourself out of a hole to learn what you missed in class. 5) PRACTICE by doing HW daily and CHECK ANSWERS posted on the class website. Ask good questions of yourself, your peers and teacher. Your questions should not be "surface level" in nature but seek to connect ideas and lead to deeper understanding. "What if...?" "If we changed this what happens to that?" "Why does it work this way?" "What does this information tell me about the behavior of the function?" "What do I need to say to clearly and concisely communicate my understanding?" 6) STUDY with PEERS in order to be able to formulate thoughts and communicate ideas out loud while learning from what others have to offer in the conversation. Students who get over their belief that they are somehow not as smart as their peers, and don't want to let anyone know their weaknesses, learn so much more from interactions with their peers! These students are the smartest students because by engaging in dialogue they are growing in their understanding. Be a risk-taker and put your Calculus brain to the test by engaging in conversation. I promise you your Calculus brain will develop to be a strong machine and you will show yourself that you are the great math student you always were in past math courses. You still are definitely a strong math student otherwise you would not be in Calculus but now you have to develop in new mathematical ways to conquer the Calculus beast. 7) LUNCH HELP is available from your teachers in their classrooms. Don't be intimidated (or make excuses for not showing up) if there are few or too many students in for lunch. Many students who show up frequently become study groups, self-sufficiently working through problems and asking questions of the teacher only when needed. Sometimes students come in to work directly with the teacher and this allows the teacher to learn what is causing confusion for students and adjust their teaching. You are probably not the only student having the same trouble. Any level of my participation is available to you but you must be your own advocate! Ask questions and insist on getting your teacher's attention when there are a lot of students in for lunch, This may also be a good opportunity to find a study-buddy who you can connect with and learn from outside of class. 8) SCHOOL PEER TUTOR: It may be possible to connect you with a student who has already taken AB Calculus and is available to work with you as a peer tutor. Ask your teacher to find out if this is possible for you. Or go directly to a student who is currently taking BC Calculus and ask if they will help you with your AB Calculus. 9) PRIVATE TUTOR: If you are still feeling like these suggestions are not enough to feel confident in your understanding and ability to be successful in Calculus, I encourage you, if you are able, to work with a private tutor. The advantage of a private tutor is that you can get your questions answered immediately rather than spinning your wheels when you do not understand something well enough to be productive. 10) DON'T PROCRASTINATE! TAKE ACTION now. The sooner you do, the sooner you will be on a more effective path to success and Calculus will be more fun too! |
Below find more advice from students who have been in your AB Calculus shoes and survived the journey!
Kaylan's recommendations:
1. Morning help was HUGE for me. In the morning, you can get to school early and go in for math help and usually not any kids are there at all. If your teacher is willing, go in and get some help when needed without the distractions that come with lunch. You can also always go at lunch and after school! 2. GET A TUTOR! Split the cost between your friends and do group tutoring which some tutors do if needed! Or even some student from NHS. Even just having one different way of explaining it was HUGE for me, if something doesn’t make sense, a new perspective I found to be very helpful. 3. Write out ALL of your work methodically. Small little mistakes were my enemy, by writing out everything, it is easier to avoid those small errors. 4. When you are confused, IMMEDIATELY ask a question! The class does not stop and consistently builds off past material. If you are confused, it will only come back to haunt you! Overall, you got this! Students who take calc are typically VERY prepared for the AP exam. Do practice problems online, work with your teachers, and you will be fine! Calc is a whole different way of thinking; even if you were the best a math in the past, this class is much more conceptual and full of weird things that you have never encountered until now! Don’t give up! You got this:)) Rebecca's recommendations:
1) The thing that I thought was "the key" for me in Calc was trying to interact with the same material in as many different ways as possible. Whether it's reading a textbook, watching Khan videos, or something else, the more varied ways you are taught a concept the better. I remember that after a lot of confusion in class, there were some things that were made super clear to me just by reading the textbook and reading the example problems. If you're struggling with a specific type of problem, it can be helpful to just choose a problem and solve in the exact same way that a textbook models an example problem. Being taught the material in a variety of ways will hopefully allow you to make connections between them and get a bigger picture of what you're trying to learn, even if one specific way doesn't click with you immediately. That also goes for practice. Find a variety of ways to study and practice the material (textbook problems, quizlet flashcards, sample AP problems, etc.). Another really important thing to do is to go over in detail tests and quizzes. Maybe start with the answers you got right, and identify what worked and why you got that problem right. Then go to the problem you got wrong and clearly identify what you did wrong, and exactly what you needed to do to get the right answer. And then practice doing that the right way so you don't forget how. 2) You can do it! Calc is totally different math territory than anything that came before it, and it's hard to get used to, especially in the beginning. I specifically remember being nervous and stressed the first semester of Calc, but slowly got more confident into second semester. If you can master a concept to where you are confident in your abilities - even if it's just one small thing - that will do a lot to boost your self-esteem moving forward. Don't give up and don't feel bad about going slow if you need to. Saylor's recommendations:
Feel Free to broadcast this. I actually have a lot to say about calculus. "I was in AP Calculus AB at the start of Sophomore year. I had skated by in all of my math classes through the last 4 years. I was so ready to get college credit, learn a couple things, and then keep going forward. Calculus hits you like a bus. Everything you know about math changes. It is no longer about solving an equation, or trigonometry, but it's how you use those skills for really complex topics. I have never been more mentally challenged in a class. It seems like every day is a new topic, and there was no longer time to work on the homework in class, ask questions, and talk to the teacher when you needed help. It feels like a year of constant drowning. Trust Me. I am alive. I made it through. You will feel so rewarded at the end of the year. There will be some classes you really get, and some that you really don't. There will be one day where you have a miraculous realization and you understand everything, but then the next day the teacher moves on and you feel even more behind. You can do this. You just have to be prepared. Show up for class. Actually do the homework. If you are confused, you HAVE to figure it out. Ask your friends, ask your teacher, and ask other teachers if they are unavailable. Do not wait for someone to explain it, because the class moves fast and the teacher won't. This is probably your first class where you really need to take ownership of your learning. Obviously yes, the tests are hard. But if you do all the homework and understand all of it, you will BE FINE. I got a tutor from FLC. It was beyond helpful. If anything, I was just able to do my homework while he did it alongside and helped me check my answers. It was the perfect situation. If you can't find/afford a tutor, please talk to NHS and tell them that you need someone to sit by you while you do the homework and answer any questions. Believe it or not, your teacher isn't out to get you. They actually want to help you, so use them. They can help you find a good tutor, they can answer your questions, and they will make time for you to learn the material. Trust the process. You all can do this!" |