Dear Parents and Students,
 

Students will earn low grades by not showing their work! Many students are not showing their work on homework, daily work, and test-taking math activities. Showing the work is such a critical step in math success, now and in the future! Therefore, I will not accept any assignments turned in when students have not shown their work. I will give them the grade that they have earned (0), and I will still require them to do it over. I would be enabling a bad habit that set students up for future difficulty in math if I allowed this to go on.

 

How students can be successful! Showing math work means that students must:

1. Get out a piece of notebook paper.
2. Number the problem. Circle the number so it isn't confused with numerals/decimals in the working part of the solution.
3. Copy the problem. If it is a word problem, students don't have to copy the words, but they do have to build a number sentence or equation that shows how they intend to solve it.
4. Show each step in the computations and problem-solving.
5. To keep the paper neat, organized, and checkable, students must write legibly, with no more than two or three problems per line. There must be a blank line when dropping down to start the next row of problem-solving.

Students have heard this from me since the beginning of school this year. It is amazing how many errors come down to being reading or organization errors -- not math! To help them with their reading errors, I require students to underline/circle important words in the directions and questions. I should see evidence of this when I collect their work.

Parents can help. Please check with your child to make sure they are showing their work and underlining/circling key words in the questions and directions. Please make sure they realize the consequences to their grades if they ignore these important policies. Also, please make sure that your child has plenty of notebook paper, pencils, and erasers, both at school and at home.

Showing the work and underlining key words = Math success and high grades.

 

For more information on why it is important to show the work, you may want to look at my online letter. Go there..

Other references:

• Higher level -- still important!
• Purple Math

Thanks,

Leslie Nettling

513-932-6317 (Home)

937-746-8969 (School)

ca_nettling@swoca.net