DON’T LET MATH SLIDE THIS SUMMER
With summer right around the corner,
students are getting ready to ditch
books and tests for beaches and travel.
Most students, following a standard ninemonth
school calendar, get to enjoy this
break from school.
Studies have shown that one unintended
consequence of these long summer
vacations can be loss of academic
knowledge and skills - a summer
learning “slide.” According to the National
Education Commission on Time and
Learning (NECTL), students learn and
retain knowledge better when taught on
a more consistent basis.
According to Johns Hopkins University,
math proficiency is especially susceptible
to the summer learning “slide.” Students
can lose up to two and a half months of
math computational skills learned during
the school year.
“These summer months can be the
perfect time for parents to show their
children the many practical applications
of math outside the classroom,” says
Deborah Baccan, owner of the Bradenton
Mathnasium franchise. “Encourage kids
to explore math in their everyday lives.
Keep it light.”
A great way to offer brief daily math
practice is to set aside 30 minutes to
complete “problems of the
day” related to skills
students will need in
the next grade level
or related to skills
that proved difficult
during the previous
school year.
These problems could be related to
adapting recipes in the kitchen, planning
trips, running a lemonade stand, or
doing odd jobs for the neighbors. The
consistency offered by a scheduled time
can make the difference between retention
of learning or the dreaded “summer slide.”
Another way to improve math literacy
is through games, particularly classic
games that have been adjusted to include
a math component. Here are a couple of
games enjoyed at Mathnasium which are
played with a standard deck of playing
cards, minus face cards:
• War – In the Mathnasium version,
students are challenged to use math
equations with each set of flipped
cards.
• Heads Up – Players draw a card
and without looking at it, hold it to
their own forehead so the opponent
can see the card. Knowing only the
value of the opponent’s card and
given a sum or product of the two
numbers by the facilitator,
players call out the
missing addend or
factor of their own
card. The first correct
response wins the round. Play
continues until the deck is used up.
These types of practices can be done
independently or incorporated into family
game nights. The competitive edge
may also encourage real effort from the
students, instead of the feeling of being
forced to do math when they could be
playing video games.
Preventing the “summer slide” means
more than making time to study and
practice skills learned in the previous year,
but rather, to provide a variety of methods
that encourage students to continue
learning. Homemade educational camps,
games adapted to practice learning skills,
and continued parental involvement
throughout the summer are all factors in
preventing loss of knowledge.
Another emerging trend seen over
school holidays is families who are
developing “camps” for their children and
grandchildren. Whether this is during a
planned trip, or over a week-long stay at a
relative’s home or in the local community,
the movement to schedule time for
educational activities is spreading.
So, during this summer, take time to have
fun in the sun, but don’t forget to exercise
the kiddos brains with fun math games.
Mathnasium of Bradenton wishes you and
your family a fun and safe summer!
• Mathnasium of Bradenton is open
this summer, Monday through Friday,
from 2:00-6:00 p.m. Math Game Hour
is from 2:00-3:00 p.m. daily, with
instruction beginning at 3:00 p.m.
They are located at 6731 Manatee
Ave W in Bradenton.