4th grade math assignment

In our district, he would need to know all the factors by the end of 4th grade. I would be surprized if other students didn’t feel overwhelmed by this assignment as well. Just listing the numbers would look like a lot of busy work. I would suggest he create a number line and color code the factors for each number. It would be a lot more fun and give him a visual he can use for any mulitiplication problems. Just remember: too much, too fast, won’t last.

Hmm. Does your son know factors? In my school, we teach factors in the 5th grade and our math curriculum is considered to be on target with national standards. If your son knows factors, then I’d get on the word processor and type this assignment out for him so he doesn’t have to laboriously write out all those numbers. (I think it’s a silly assignment - how long did his teacher think this would take a 4th grader to do?? My busy work alarm just went off)

If though you have a comfortable relationship with the teacher and modifying assignments is something you routinely do, then I’d modify. Factoring can be practices with just a few numbers to “get it” - no one needs to do all the numbers between 2 and 99 to understand how to factor.

That’s what I suspected - that it was more in line with 5th grade work. He’s just learned his multiplication facts and they are doing division. Last year when they introduced division he screamed at me, “Tell her I’m not READY to do division!” This year he has no problem with it. But he had no idea when I asked him if he knew what a factor was.

The idea about the word processor is great. I think I will have him type in a few numbers in a spread sheet and then show him how to have the computer fill in the rest of the pattern.

His teacher accepts that I will modify as I see fit. She’s not thrilled with it, but she does not question my son about the issue.

I would teach those words like factor more thoroughly than most math classes do and connect the “factor” of math to the word as you might use it in conversation (age is an important factor in what you’re allowed to do…) This is the kind of idea that is usually not comprehended at all — it’s just a guessing game with the symbols, and if you don’t *happen* to remember the right facts to recite, you don’t come up with the right answer and you hardly ever really understand the idea of factors of bigger numbers. Using a number line and showing multiples and factors can help; using objects and grouping them could, too.

The idea behind this kind of assignment is that — when it works — by the middle or so the kid starts seeing patterns and it gets easier, and it really is a lot easier by the end. Alas, that’s only when it *works…* which will be for a few kids and the gap between the “math kids” and the rest of the world will widen, when that’s not really necessary.

My daughter who is in a pretty demanding parochial school did factors in 5th grade.

BTW, I hate spiraling circ. too. They are just deadly for LD kids. I have noticed that my daughter has a lot less of it in the parochial school than my son (LD) has in public school.

Beth

I’m not a math person even though I taught it once.

What would the patterns be? How long would this assignment take? If it goes smoothly?

I can see the patterns for the smaller numbers. What’s the pattern for 91? and 77?

And does this child know primes?

But I’d really love to know the patterns.

Sue J raises an excellent point about patterns. Patterns are sooo helpful in learning.

It would be equally helpful though if the teacher would explain that to students. Try a few and then - you might see a pattern - you might not have to figure out each one. Students should know that before hand.

Other question which comes to mind is - does your son know prime numbers? That should be taught as a part of this unit. Has it?

The assignment is done, and it’s about what I would expect. Even after I went over with him several times why any even number (except 2) could not possibly be a prime number, he had 26, 34, and half dozen others listed as prime. Assignments like this I don’t even correct with him, because he’s so far from understanding the concept that it’s just too frustrating for him.

I would love to be able to show him an easy way (write 2 as a factor for every other number, 3 for every 3rd number, etc., then whatever’s left is prime) but he would just be even more confused.

Oh well, in a year or two he’ll be ready to do it and hopefully by then he won’t be too used to being unsuccessful to try it.

… the shortcuts *might* hold for a little while but they’d just be a strange dance step to be forgotten or to add to the confusion.
It’s always struck me as odd to be working on “factors” of numbers like 77 and 91… with somebody who doesn’t really have “place value” down yet.
91 is prime — if you group 91 things into any groups you’ll always have some left over. But 77 … for symbol folks it’s fun to notice those 11 tables — 11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88, 99, 110 — and those are visually obvious, but even beyond that, if 11 goes into it, if you add the outside two numbers you get the inside one for the next bunch(121, 132, 143, 154, 165, 176, 187, 198) — or it’s the numbers that go down one instead of being the same digit…
Marilyn Burns has neat books on math that connect it well with the stuff of everyday life (though for teaching, she’s got a lot of language if you’re working with kids with LDs).