Has anyone out there ever heard of Dr. Henry Borenson math? This was used last year in my daughter’s class to teach algebra skills? It seem to me more confusing than helpful. It also seem to me for a LD student a diaster? Can anyone help understand how it is helpful?
Re: Dr. Henry Borenson math
I have suggested this for LD students, since it’s a good concrete representation of the concept of equality (the balance scale). It’s a metaphor I used long before I’d ever seen the program. Now, I haven’t used that program (and I say so when I suggest people check it out) so I’m not sure how it’s presented, but I’d give it a shot.
The idea is that you’ve got this “unknown” — imagine a bag of unknown quantity. Stick it on a scale - if it balances 32 units of mass (in my graduate project they were civil war bullets I got from the basement) then x = 32.
If you had that bag and 3 weights… you could translate that into algebra to mean “x + 3.” and on the other side you’d have 35 units. Well, to figure ouit waht X is, you have to “get x by itself.” How do you do that? …
Subtraction’s a little tougher but if you actually have the weights in the bag you can pull three out to stand for x - 3. Also, most kids at this point can imagine (*if* you take them through the process visually or verbally and give them time to process as new information, instead of figuring they’ll zip through it as fast as a math teacher can :)). If they can’t then it’s well worth working with weights and measures to get them more comfortable with those ways of thinking.
It is very helpful…I have used it and it uses manipulatives so the children can see on a balanced scale what you do to one side you do to the other. My daughter did really well with it..