Valley Stream UFSD Thirteen Presents Math Workshops

Valley Stream Union Free School District Thirteen offered a pair of math workshops on March 18, including a morning session at Willow Road Elementary School and an afternoon gathering at James A. Dever Elementary School.

The workshops, which were provided for parents of students in grades 3-6, helped attendees understand the expectations of the New York State Common Core Learning Standards and how they can assist their children in math. Several math teachers from Valley Stream UFSD Thirteen were on hand for the event to provide parents with strategies on how they can help their children understand math. They explained to the parents that there are many strategic thinking games they can play with their children at home to help reinforce skills in mathematics, including checkers, chess, Parcheesi, Mastermind, Battleship, Monopoly, Blockus, Yahtzee and card games, among others.

Parents were also encouraged to ask questions when their children come home from school, such as “How often did you use math today?” and “How did you use it?” Since a new shift in math education involves students doing things such as decomposing numbers or shapes, applying properties of numbers and going beyond simply relying on algorithms, it’s important for students to have conceptual understanding and fluency in order to complete modern-day math test questions.

Parents asking questions on how their children used math in other areas, such as in gym class or science, can help reinforce math strategies in a real-world context. Valley Stream UFSD Thirteen’s math department is working hard to partner with parents to ensure that all of the district’s children are ready for high school and on track for success in college and the workforce.