Tag: math

Trying to figure out how to study math this year? Are you struggling with math concepts? Exams stressing you out? Are you finding it difficult to come up with an effective study plan? Do you want to know how to study math easily? What if I told you that success is just around the corner. This list will help you overcome any math course barriers or issues that you might be facing.

Whether you follow all of these tips, or just a few, you are guaranteed to come out in the top of the class. Don’t delay any further – read on to discover how to study math like a pro!

1. Study in a distraction free environment. Yes, that means leaving your phone in another room, not studying in the living room and avoiding listening to music.
2. Keep a math dictionary with all the important terms and their definitions. Make sure that you write them out as well on index cards or somewhere so that you have easy access to the info.
3. Practice, practice, practice. There isn’t anything much more effective than completing practice questions. These can be found online or by asking your teacher or tutor.
4. Take some time to study your math online and use tutorials and videos that you can pause and replay until you fully understand topics and concepts.
5. Do your homework, even when the teacher hasn’t assigned any. By doing a bit of math every night you will be cementing your understanding of the topic. This is one of the fastest, best ways to really understand math and ace your tests this year.
6. Befriend your teacher. No need to become besties, but by developing a positive working relationship you will feel more comfortable to seek help. This will also increase your chances that your teacher will check in with you to make sure you have a solid understanding of what they are teaching you (and testing you on).
7. Read ahead. This means you can have questions for your teacher already prepared. It’s the best way to avoid get caught behind or struggling to understand whatever the topic is.  If you know what’s coming you can have your questions and issues ready to go once your teacher has covered the topic.  Why wait a day or three before raising your issues?
8. Time yourself when answering questions to help deal with time pressures that occur during exams.  SAT, ACT and other exams including end of semester exams are frequently timed, don’t get caught not having the time you need to finish!
9. Use the extras that come with your textbook such as CDs and apps as they offer valuable practice questions and explanations.
10. Create a study timetable to ensure that you have enough time to review all topics and leave no stone unturned.
11. Teach a friend. It is often said that you don’t fully understand anything unless you can explain it to someone else.
12. Use flash cards to improve your memory recall. They also help with self-reflection and can boost your confidence.  It’s a fast, easy way to grab a few minutes of review on the go as well.
13. Get help sooner rather than later. Math is a cumulative subject, meaning that knowledge is built on past skills. If you don’t understand part of a topic, chances are you will struggle with the next chapter. Understand each step and topic before moving on.
14. Don’t cheat. Copying someone else’s homework will only make it look like you understand math problems, and cheating in an exam can have serious ramifications. There is truth in the saying that you are only cheating yourself.
15. Sit in the right place in the classroom, making sure you can see the board clearly and hear the teacher. Try to avoid sitting with anyone that is likely to distract you.
16. Get a tutor to provide personalized help in the areas you struggle the most.
17. Play math games. By making studying fun you are more likely to do it. Plenty of games can be found online and you can compete against yourself (improving your personal best) or against other players for extra motivation.
18. Talk to yourself. This may sound a little weird and probably a tactic that is best done in the privacy of your bedroom, but by talking through what you are doing you will be reinforcing rules and committing them to your memory.
19. Always check your answers to avoid making silly mistakes.
20. Color code your notes. Highlight each topic in a particular color to help you find information when you are looking for it.
21. Get some sleep. This might sound counterintuitive, but staying up all night takes its toll on your brain so make sure you get adequate rest, especially the night before an exam.
22. Practice good time management. Organizing your study schedule isn’t the only thing that will benefit from effective time management. Managing your time in exams is crucial. If a problem is stumping you, make a note and come back to it if you have time. You’re better off answering the questions you know you can answer successfully than spending a lot of time on a question that is confusing and time consuming.
23. Form a math study group with some like-minded friends is a great answer to the question of ‘how to study math in college’. Studying in a group can be very effective, but also has the potential to turn into a social gathering so make sure your group remains focussed on math.
24. Create a ‘cheat sheet’. This isn’t actually cheating, but organizing your rules and formulas onto one page that you can easily access when you need to refresh your memory. Sometimes you are even allowed a ‘cheat sheet’ in exams so having an easy-to-read one already prepared is very handy.
25. Sing about it! Learning a song can help you memorize formulas and rules. Try some of these: http://www.calculus-help.com/storage/funstuff/qformula.mp3
    http://mathstory.com/mathsongs/hypotenuse.aspx
    https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/switch-sign-in-algebra
26. Ask lots of questions. Don’t be afraid to ask your teacher or tutor loads of questions, and don’t be embarrassed because chances are that many other students will have the same question so you will be helping others too.
27. Team up with a friend or classmate who will take notes for you if you happen to miss class. You should do the same for them. They might prove to be a valuable study partner as well.
28. Try and apply the mathematical concepts you are studying in geometry or algebra to the real world. You are more likely to remember them by doing this.
29. Always show your work in each problem that you do! This proves that your thinking is on the right track, even if you make a silly mistake and come out with the wrong answer. You will get marks for showing your working, and all those marks add up!
30. Get clarification on anything you are unclear about. If you are unsure if what you are doing is right, check it. You can do this by asking your teacher or tutor, reading back through your notes or textbook, or by asking a friend to check your work.
31. Be positive! A good attitude will go a long way to helping you succeed. Don’t dwell on your mistakes, instead, keep reminding yourself what you can do, and that you are capable of mastering difficult topics.
32. Understand your calculator. Not just how it works and ensuring that you press the buttons in the right order, but also the reasoning behind why you a pressing each button. This will help cement your understanding of concepts and formulas.
33. Redo your mistakes to understand and learn where you went wrong to avoid making the same mistake again.
34. Take your time. Sure, exams have time limits and it’s always good to be mindful of this, but if you rush too much you are likely to make silly mistakes. When doing your homework, take the time to ensure you understand each problem.
35. Stick at it! Don’t give up. As Einstein once said, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” Persevere and you will succeed.

When it comes to knowing how to study math, you are now an expert! By applying these tips, you are on your way to becoming a math genius! Good luck!

Been thinking about some fun summer math activities to add into the day?  Math games and activities shouldn’t be reserved for the classroom. In fact, you can have a ton of educational fun with your children over the summer break.

Best of all?  You don’t need to spend money on fancy games, all of these games can be created with objects you have lying around the house. The great things about these math games is that you can adapt them to any age group, meaning you can play the same game with the whole family!

Fun Summer Math Activities

1. Shape Twister

The good thing about this game is that it has the potential to entertain children for hours. The game is played much like the traditional game of Twister, but uses basic mathematical shapes. You can prepare the game yourself or get children to help you (thus keeping them busy for even longer). This is how you do it:

• Draw large basic shapes on paper, colored or plain is fine – the focus is on shapes. You will need four of each of the six shapes (these can vary depending on knowledge, but some good ideas are square, circle, triangle, diamond, pentagon and rectangle).
• Arrange the pieces of paper together to create a playing surface.
• Create a spinning board. Using some strong cardboard, divide it into four sections (one for each hand and each foot).
• In each segment draw each shape. These must be in circle formation so the spinner can definitively point to a shape. Use another piece of strong cardboard to cut an arrow shape. Fasten it to the board at the center with a paper fastener.
• Play! Children take it in turns to play and to be the spinner. The spinner reads the instruction aloud for the players to follow, for example, ‘right hand on square’.
• The winner is the player who doesn’t fall over!

2. Memory Matching Game

Help children improve their recognition, matchmaking and memory skills with this homemade memory game. Start by taking some photos of various objects and people. Print out the photos, ensuring you have double of each image. Glue the photos onto card or have them laminated.

How to play:

• Shuffle the cards (the photos) and lay them face down in a grid pattern – no peeking!
• Players take it in turns to flip over two cards. If they match, they keep the pair and have another turn. If not, they flip the cards back over and it is the next player’s turn.
• Keep playing until all cards have been paired up and the player with the most pairs wins!

3. Bottle Toss

This game is just like many games you see at carnivals!

• Collect a bunch of bottles and fill them with water to make them more stable. Write different numbers on each of the lids – vary these depending on your child’s ability and whether you are focusing on addition or multiplication.
• Cluster the bottles together and use plastic rings, perhaps bangles, to toss over the top of the bottles. Give children a challenge such as ‘add to 20’ or ‘multiply to 60’.
• Children aim at various numbers to create a successful equation.
• The first person to achieve the challenge wins!

4. Pitch, Hit and Graph

Enjoy the outdoors with your kids and have some educational fun! This activity is geared towards baseball, but you could adapt it to any sport you like. It can be played with any number of people, but the more people you have the more more data you will get, creating more graphing options. This makes a great challenge for older children.

• Set up distance targets and pitch the ball to your kid. For each hit, record the distance using pen and paper.
• Convert the data to a graph – try line graphs, bar graphs and pie charts.
• Don’t forget to have your child pitch to you and record you scores!

5. Mathematical Tic-Tac-Toe

Turn this classic game into a educational math activity.

• Use nine squares of paper for the tic-tac-toe grid. Write several math problems or equations on the squares and arrange in a grid pattern face down.
• Each player has their own small stack of cards, or paper, with either an ‘X’ or an ‘O’. They take it in turns to flip the paper in the grid, choose a problem and answer it. If answered correctly, they replace the piece of paper with their own, thus placing and ‘X’ or an ‘O’ in its place.
• The aim is to create three successful sheets in a row!

6. Playing Card Math

Everyone has a deck of cards lying around, so dig them out and play this math game.

• Remove the King, Queen, Jack and Joker cards, and explain that ace cards are equal to one.
• Shuffle the remaining cards and then place nine cards in a 3×3 grid pattern.
• Ask you child to look for any combination of cards that add up to a particular number. Once they have identified the cards remove them, and replace them with new cards from the pack. If no combinations are available, remove all nine and replace them. Keep playing until the deck is complete.
• For older children, give them a number and allow them to reach it using any way possible. For example, to reach six they might use 3×4-5-1 to get rid of as many cards as possible.
• Make it a two player game and have the children alternate turns, the person who collects the most cards is the winner.

Games are great ways to get kids working their brains, decreasing summer learning loss and staying on top of all that they learned in school.  In addition, by playing some summer math activities together you accomplish a few things without anyone noticing. First, you’re having family or togetherness time.  Secondly, you’re just having plain ‘ole fun!  Remember that term?  The older we get the more we forget it. 😉  And finally, Your kids are able to work on their math skills without realizing it.  Finding practical applications and fun with a few of these summer math activities is a great and easy way to do it!