2+2=4 Ahh the good old days when math made sense!
Then suddenly 2+x=4 and in a flash your child is arguing the addition of a LETTER into the math world of numbers.
Black and White Thinking Meets Abstract
Late elementary school math started sneaking in simple algebra and my child balked. At first it was not big deal and we were able to talk through the problem together. As the algebra exercises got bigger and things got harder we had to face the fact that my child with high functioning autism, a very black and white thinker, could not understand the abstract nature of algebra.
I got some wonderful advice from a math tutor on how she deals with kids that have difficulty with the abstract nature of algebra. Add peace had descended on our math lessons once more!
<slap the forehead moment> How very simple and yet perfect this solution is. Simply take out the offending letter and put in a shape. Yes, I know that our children will need to learn to work with algebra problems in their nature letter form but not today. Today we are learning about how to deal with an unknown quantity and form an answer.
I am still using this method for my child. For the first semester we stuck strictly to shapes and not letters. It is easier now to ‘see’ that a letter could replace the shape but we are still working through the abstract of letters. I am thrilled to see progress but I do realize this will take time.
I hope that you find this math trick to be as productive for your black and white thinker as we have!
We have used a square for years and call it the “empty box”. It is empty. You can fill it with a number and see if it works or fails. LOL
When starting, I always began with a ?. That is what the letter is, after all, an unknown. Then we’d name the ? when we’d work the problem, word problems, specifically. But we would switch the ? to an N when we re-copied the line. This also helps them not to get caught up on letters in their math.
We aren’t to this point in math yet, but I can see this being an issue for our older son. Thank you for the great idea.
BRILLIANT! my daughter is very upset about the letters in the math problems, too. She understands basic math so well, that she never ever wants to give it up. she sees no need to do any other math. she doesnt even think geometry IS math. and now letters are appearring in the numbers. i think the question mark will help her tremendously. thank you!!
now do you have a solution for helping her with formulas??