A strong math foundation is the starting point to being strong with math.

Let me introduce, The Fantastical 5 - will become the core of your foundations taught.

Parents, Students,

Let’s talk math. So not the non-math stuff, as in habits, teacher, motivation, giving up, learning, homework! Math!

Today I will talk about The Fantastical 5 ..

.. aka it’s more boring name, The Summary Sheet. ← click the link to get some deets or see picture below.

Everything and anything that has lasting power has a strong foundation. Today I’m writing about the importance and usefulness of having a solid foundation again for two reasons:

 #1 A reminder and ‘advertisement’ that, a strong math foundation is the starting point to being strong with math!
#2 It's one way a parent can help their child without having to teach them.

Every day a teacher teaches, they teach new math. And that new math has its own foundation, as in the 'founding' principles - at times called fundamentals or sometimes called the basics. But I shy away from the word basics as it has multiple meanings in math education. View the foundation as the most straightforward and uncomplicated math taught each day – it's so easy that it's on the other end of the spectrum to the most difficult math questions. There is nothing easier!

View the foundation as the most straightforward and uncomplicated math taught each day.

I, Edison, writer of this math learning publication, deem the foundation so crucial and central to

the core that all my students answer five questions every day their teacher teaches. Read to the end to hear what a university student is doing*.

Okay, advertisement for benefits of foundation over! On to the practical stuff ... the Summary Sheet.

What’s a Summary Sheet?

It’s where that foundation that’s taught by the teacher is copied. So powerful and fantastic, that I call them the Fantastical Five (5)! What are the 5"?

1)      Easiest question taught that by the teacher day (usually the first example taught)
2)      That Easy question done by the teacher.
3)      Math words in the question (know their meaning).
4)      Math symbols in the question (know their meaning).
5)      Easy question done visually (a picture).

This Summary Sheet captures the core of what a teacher teaches each day. And will be useful to have as it will be a go-to resource that can be revisited as the course advances. It’s like a bff that really lasts (I realize forever and lasting are the same – wrote that just in case ‘bff’s are not a known entity)!

Here’s the lowdown and upshot

The math on a Summary Sheet has to be mastered and perfected to 100%. Why? Because it contains the easiest math taught – there is nothing easier taught in a day. Know that, and you have a strong foundation, which helps with, are you ready for this … Understanding math, Retaining math, Getting new math, Figuring out tougher math - The Fabulous Four! And those four have the Fantastical 5 to thank! Summary Sheets are then the secret sauce that make math magical.

The Fantastical 5 are the foundation for The Fabulous Four!

Let me explain the Fantastical 5 another way.

To remember math, Summary Sheets are the start, as it begins to have math make sense. The process is like breaking a math question into five parts that tell you everything and anything you need to know about the question. You’re looking at it from the Top, Bottom, and Side, and then thinking, okay, okay, I see how this works – that’s the engineer in me talking.

If you’ve read most of these Math by Edison articles, you’ll perhaps notice a common theme or, might I say, founding principles. I am aiming to create students who have learning habits that they can take into university, to succeed in university. And I do that because it’s my push back, ‘Math isn’t what makes math hard’.

*Case and point

I got a recent email from an ex-high school student I tutored a few years ago, who’s now at university in second-year Computer Engineering. What was the email all about? He wanted to tell me that he’s continued with Summary Sheets in university (Linear Algebra and 2nd-year Calculus) and into his non-math courses as well! The Sheets worked for him in high school, and he’s transferred that habit into university.

Logistics Steps

1. Grab a sheet of paper, 2. Split into two vertical columns (yes, that’s redundant, but maybe it’s possible to have vertical rows 😊), 3. First column will be narrower as that’s where the five headings are written 4. Next, draw lines to separate into five horizontal rows (sorry, I was grasping at something that would make me chuckle). 5. Start copying the foundations onto the Summary Sheet!

Sheets can be done on 8.5 x 11 paper, on a cue card, or a computer document. Wherever it’s done, it must be easily accessible. If using cue cards, write the Easy Question on the front and the other four parts on the back side – this becomes a valuable strategy when a student wants to quiz themselves.

Next steps

Students, go for it. Start forcing your foundations to be less fragile and more formidable. Make it last, make it fantastical so you can be fabulous in math!

Parents, you've just given your math student a structure, a guide on what’s the first 5 things they should think about when doing math – at home, at school … on a test, 😊. Yay! And you get to ask, "So, … how's your foundation sheets today?" It's not a yes/no question, and a response of 'okay' versus 'fabulous' gives you an inkling that something may be amiss. Then you politely ask, “So what's that word mean … the one over there, yes, that one?" Fun with foundation awaits.'

A strong foundation is lasting.

Parting thought

Everything and anything that lasts has a strong foundation. The math foundation on these Summary Sheets (the Fantastical 5), are lasting and can be used with the homework routine, included with prep for a quiz or prep for a test, and a core part of the course review to prep for a final exam. Oh, and at the start of the next course, guess what’s a key part of the pre-course prep before attending the first class? You got it! Summary Sheets.

Edison
Edison Hopkinson
Learning strategist to math students and parents
Strategies that tell you exactly what foundation of math you have to master!