Delaying formal arithmetic

Denise at Let's Play Math has been discussing delaying formal arithmetic, as based on Benezet's experiment in the early 1900s.

I have read the whole story (The Teaching of Arithmetic I: The Story of an experiment) and it's a FASCINATING though long read! These kids ended up having superior math skills in middle school.

Anyhow, Denise has highlighted some points of this "experiment" and you might enjoy her posts:

Delayed arithmetic

Personally, I do like to introduce "formal" or paper-pencil arithmetic earlier than Benezet did... as is customary in today's culture, BUT it's beneficial to be aware of how things can work without it also! You might get some ideas to use in your own teaching.

Comments

Christy said…
Have you read any of Constance Kamii's books on math? She did something similar, I think, in having some classes not taught formal algorithms.

For me, teaching my children, I'm not so concerned about avoiding formal math teaching as I am about also including all of those other math experiences.
12:26 PM, August 03, 2012
Maria Miller said…
I tend to agree: I want to include activities etc. but not avoid writing down math problems (formal math).
1:57 PM, August 03, 2012
Lady said…
Maria, is there a curriculum or book that follows the Benezet model?
1:19 PM, November 17, 2012
Lady said…
Maria, is there a curriculum/book that follows Benezet's model?
1:20 PM, November 17, 2012
Maria Miller said…
No, I don't know of any.
2:20 PM, November 17, 2012
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Conversion chart for measuring units

Image
I was just sent a link to this site; all it is, is a handy one-page printable conversion chart for various US measures, metric measures, and US vs. metric measures. Includes even a comparative Fahrenheit vs. Celsius thermometer. http://metricconversioncharts.org/
Read more

Meaning of factors in multiplication: four groups of 2, or 4 taken two times?

Someone asked me about the interpretation or meaning of the two numbers in multiplication, such as 4 × 2. Do you view it as four groups of 2 , or as four, taken two times ? Here's their question: "...I noticed that your explanation about how to interpret a math phrase, such as 4 × 2, is different from how I have understood it and taught it to my older daughter who was using RightStart Math at this level. Let me explain:  I see that you are using the first factor to denote number of groups and the second factor tells how many are in each group (4 × 2 would be interpreted 4 groups of 2).  On the other hand, I have taught and thought of it reversed, with the first factor telling how many are in each group and the second factor telling you how many groups (4 × 2 would be 4 taken 2 times).  I know that the difference in explanations does not ultimately change the product, but I am wondering what you thoughts are.  When I conceptually picture what I'm doing I see i...
Read more

Geometric art project: seven-circle flower design

Image
I got inspired by the blogpost Art School | Geometric Design with Islamic Art where Deborah shows how to make a neat flower design with seven circles , using a compass, and then coloring it using 2, 3, or 4 colors (or however many of your own). I think it ties in neatly with mathematics, and lets students practice drawing circles with a compass.  My girls loved the art/math project. Here are pictures they made: Here are step-by-step instructions for the flower design: 1.  Draw a line and a circle so that the circle's center point is on the line. Then mark the points where this circle intersects the line. 2. Use those points as center points, and draw two more circles. The radius is the same all the time, so make sure you don't change it on your compass!We used 5 cm as the radius, and that made the whole design fit neatly on a regular letter size paper. 3. Now note the two points marked in the picture. They will be used as center points in the next...
Read more