BJU Press Blog

math

Teaching Work Skills: Spreadsheet Activity

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Entering data into a spreadsheet is one of the more mundane aspects of my job, but it’s also a critical part of what I do. I’m able to take lots of data about our company and use math to figure out how we can better serve homeschool families. That’s the part that excites me.

Spreadsheets are used in just about all academic and business environments. Learning how to use them at home can give your student a big advantage in college and in the workforce.

Here’s a basic and enjoyable activity from our Algebra 2 textbook to get your child started with spreadsheets and show how math concepts relate to everyday work.  The user interface can vary depending on which spreadsheet software you’re using, but just about any should work for this activity. Here are some popular options:

• Google Sheets™ – You can use this web-based spreadsheet program for free, but you have to have a Google account. It can be used on just about any platform.

• Microsoft Excel – This is perhaps the most robust and widely used spreadsheet program. It’s paid software that you install on your Windows, macOS, iOS, or Android device.

• LibreOffice® Calc – As open-source software, this can be downloaded for free and installed on just about any desktop operating system. The interface is a bit dated compared to the other two options.

Activity: Daily High Temperature

A scientist can use a spreadsheet to track a city’s daily high temperature and to determine the weekly average temperature in both Fahrenheit and Celsius. Make a spreadsheet to record a particular location’s high temperatures daily for several weeks and construct a graph illustrating the data. Weather Underground has a great weather history tool that you can use for this.

After entering the numbers for the first two weeks in column A, highlight the cells that establish a pattern (cells A3 and A4). Then use the fill handle (the small square in the lower right-hand corner of the highlighted area) to expand the box down the column to row 6.

Now record the data for each day. Also enter the following formulas to calculate the average high temperature for the week in Fahrenheit and convert this average to degrees Celsius.

In column I row 3 (cell I3), enter =(B3+C3+D3+E3+F3+G3+H3)/7 to find the average.

In column J row 3 (cell J3), enter =5/9*(I3-32) to convert to Celsius.

Most spreadsheets include a function (for adding a series of numbers and finding their average) that can be used to simplify the first formula to something like this: =(AVERAGE(B3:H3))

These formulas can be copied into the cells for the remaining weeks by dragging the fill handle down. Notice how the cell references in the formulas are adjusted relative to each cell’s position in the spreadsheet when the formula is replicated in this manner. Most spreadsheets also allow you to quickly generate graphs from the numerical data.

Once the activity is completed, have your student think about how math was at work behind the scenes. Ask questions like these:

  • What does the data show?
  • What did the formulas help you accomplish?
  • Was using the spreadsheet easier than doing the work manually?
  • Can you think of any other industries or tasks where a spreadsheet could be useful?

The goal of this activity is not to produce a nice graph at the end, but to gain an understanding of exactly how a spreadsheet works and how it can organize data and solve real-world problems using math.

If your student enjoys this activity, consider using one of the similar activities in Algebra 2 to improve your student’s spreadsheet skills.

Microsoft, Encarta, MSN, and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Shopping for Math Number Sense at the Grocery Store

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Shopping for Math Number Sense at the Grocery Store
My wife Megan is a terrific teacher who effectvely uses real-life situations to teach our grade-school children number sense. When we recently celebrated our youngest daughter’s third birthday, our two oldest children wanted to buy something for her. So my wife gave them some extra chores and paid them enough money to buy one of those fancy helium birthday balloons—on sale for ninety-nine cents! My five-year-old stored her coins in a tin container made for holding tea.

Once they made it to the checkout line, Megan had the cashier ring up the balloon as a single order so my daughters could pay for their gift individually. When the cashier announced the cost, our kindergartener took her tin can and dumped all the coins out. Coins clanged on the floor and rolled to a stop. Then she started counting out the change for her purchase.

Megan said she was a little embarrassed, but our daughter counted out the needed change for her contribution to the gift, and our girls bought the balloon.

While the shopping excursion took extra time, it was a powerful homeschooling moment in my daughters’ understanding of math.

Starting with Creation

Children understand math when they begin their exploration of mathematical principles in God’s created order. When we teach counting, our family starts with counting grapes. Then we help our daughters learn place value by connecting blocks into groups of ten. We want our children to know that all those mathematical symbols represent something real. We call connecting mathematical symbols with the physical world number sense. It’s something they can touch and move. Starting with objects in God’s creation when learning math ignites a child’s understanding.

With the light of understanding, children are ready to practice so that math becomes automatic for them.

Practicing with Creation

We teach our children math so they can exercise good and wise dominion over God’s creation. This means that accurate computation is a means to an end. If we can show children that the math skills they’re learning will enable them to do more in the world around them, that gives math a purpose, and math mastery becomes more satisfying than getting a perfect score on a worksheet. They’re learning to solve real-life math problems by practicing with creation.

Bringing it together at the grocery story

Grocery shopping provides an ideal situation for developing number sense. Touching and moving physical coins and dollar bills allows them to manipulate objects as  they do the calculations. Then they can see how the money they have in hand corresponds to price tags in the store. This is the essence of number sense—knowing how those numerical symbols relate to the real world.

Now children are ready to use computation. “Do I have enough money to make this purchase? How much money will I have left over?” When they get older, they can calculate how much sales tax will add to their purchase. All of these activities demonstrate to children that their math skills are critical for everyday activities, such as buying groceries.

Math is a powerful tool for wisely stewarding the little part of creation that God has assigned to each of us. When we start teaching math to our children, it should have meaning that goes beyond plus and minus signs.

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Kindergarten Math Hands-On Activity (Printable)

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In my last post—One Thing Your Kids Need to Know to Excel at Math—I talked about how important it is for kids to master the concept of base ten at an early age (typically in kindergarten). Now it’s time to take those ideas and use them to break down numbers into groups of ones and tens to be ready for problem solving.

Let’s take apart the number 13.  Thirteen contains one group of ten and three ones. It can be helpful for kids to visualize this and manipulate the different groups of objects with their hands to gain real understanding.

To make this easier, I’d like to share a tool from our Math K5 curriculum called a ten frame, which is just a simple way to explore a not-so-simple concept. You can use items you have around the house as counters to fill the boxes in the frame. Pennies, dry beans, and cereal (yummy!) work well for this. Counters are grouped into tens and ones to visualize two-digit numbers.

Download your printable ten frame here.

Activity

Start with two ten frames. (Download yours here.) Fill one ten frame with counters. Have your children begin counting starting with 10. Have them circle the filled ten frame with a finger as they say “10” out loud. As they say each additional number (11, 12, 13), have them place one counter in a section on the second ten frame.

Finish with questions like these:

  • How many more than 10 is the number 13?
  • How many more counters do we need to make 14?
  • How many groups of 10 do you have?
  • How many ones?

You can repeat this activity with several ten frames to make even larger numbers.

I hope you find this activity helpful. It and many others are included in our Math K5 Teacher’s Edition.

 

One Thing Your Kids Need to Know to Excel at Math

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In this age of chip-card transactions and smartphone “tap and pay,” I don’t usually have a reason to carry much cash. When I do need some extra cash, I go to the ATM at my local bank. I usually have a specific item that I need cash for, so I know exactly how much I need down to the dollar. But the ATM lets me withdraw only in multiples of ten. It’s one of life’s minor frustrations.

Have you ever wondered why so many things are broken down by tens? Why is the number ten so important to our society? No one’s sure, but some historians theorize that it’s because humans have ten fingers.

Regardless of why, our number system based on ten is one of the most pervasive aspects of human society. Nearly all countries and cultures use the base-ten number system for everyday uses. As adults we take understanding it for granted, but base ten can be a difficult concept for kids to pick up, and learning it early is critical for math success.

What is base ten?

Base ten is the number system that we use every day that uses columns to show place value. When a number is written out, each digit is assigned a column to show its value. We can see from the graphic below, the value of the 5 is ten times greater than the 3, while the 6 is one-tenth its value. This pattern continues as you move left or right.

Why is base ten important?

Getting a firm grasp on base ten is key to understanding math. Once your child understands how base ten works, many new doors will be opened.

If children lack a good understanding of the base-ten number system, they’ll have a hard time counting or visualizing quantities. They may only be able to count by ones, instead of by tens or hundreds. Learning more advanced math concepts such as long division becomes nearly impossible.

If a child doesn’t understand that the 5 in 58 actually represents 50, then lots of calculation problems can begin to show up as you move into more complex concepts, leading to a lot of frustration for both parent and child.

How and when should I teach my kids base ten?

It’s important to start early. BJU Press Math introduces this concept in K5 and reinforces it throughout the early grades.

The key to mastering base ten is visualization. Separating groups of ten from groups of ones visually early on helps develop understanding. This can be accomplished using hands-on manipulatives such as Unifix cubes or pennies.

Take a look at page 81 of BJU Press Math K5 Worktext.

The worktext asks the child to circle the group of ten that is visually separate from the remaining items. It then asks the child to write the numeral below. The image groupings above correlate with the tens and ones columns below.

The important thing in teaching this concept is to stick with it. Don’t get frustrated if things don’t click at first.  Keep trying a variety of visualizations and hands-on manipulatives until you find something that your child relates to. Need some ideas? The BJU Press Math K5 Teacher’s Edition is packed full of teaching advice and strategies.

Learn more about BJU Press Math K5

Homeschool Outside with These Ideas (Printable)

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Lately, my homeschool has been plagued by spring fever. Warm air, bright sunshine, blooming trees and flowers, playful squirrels, and visiting birds have all conspired together to distract my children. And I can hardly blame them for being distracted. There are days when I, too, would much rather be outside soaking up the sun than inside teaching a math lesson.

One of the great things about homeschooling is that it can happen anywhere. We don’t have to do our lessons in our homeschool room. We can do them outside while sitting on the porch or on a picnic table at the park. In fact, we don’t even have to sit anywhere. We can learn a lot by just walking through our neighborhood and observing the world around us.  Download our walking activity sheets and use some of the ideas below (or come up with some of your own) to keep the learning going while you enjoy some fresh air and exercise.

1. Gather Math Manipulatives

Who said that you have to use paper to do addition and subtraction? Take a walk and gather twigs, small rocks, pinecones (or whatever else interests your child), and use those as your manipulatives for the day if possible.

2. Review Math Concepts

Are you learning about geometry? See if your child can identify some solid figures. Are you learning about measurement? Measure the distance in feet, yards, or even steps between two trees in your yard. Or measure the distance between your front door and the mailbox. Need to work on statistics? Grab a stopwatch and time how long it takes for each family member to walk around the block. Then figure out the average walking time. Your neighborhood is a great place to practice real-world math.

3. Identify Nouns or Verbs

After you finish walking, encourage your children to write down twenty nouns or verbs that they observed during your walk. Nothing can be on the list more than once.

4. Write a Description

What interesting things are going on in your neighborhood? Is someone building a house? Are there baby ducks in a nearby pond? Snap a picture if you can and have your child write a descriptive paragraph about it using the writing sheet in the activity packet.

5. Review Science Concepts

This week in science, my daughter is learning about forces, so we’re going to take a ten-minute walk and list all the push-or-pull movements that we observe.  You could do something similar with other science concepts. Can your children find an example of a solid, liquid, and a gas? Can they list a dozen natural resources that they observed?

As homeschoolers, we know that learning is not confined to a specfic time or even to a designated space. So take advantage of the beautiful spring weather and move your learning outside. Everyone will be glad you did!