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Mathleaks Blog

How to Create a Math Study Guide – for Parents

25 August, 2022

A complete step-by-step guide on creating a math study guide, to help your kids thrive in their math classes.

In this article, we will talk about:

Keep reading!

Why is it important that my child learns math?

To begin with, you may sometimes wonder why your kid should study math, especially if they don’t have the best relationship with the subject. Some people say that everything is for everyone, and it’s normal to think that math as well falls into this category. 

We know that mathematics may not be everyone’s favorite, and not everyone has to master math. Nevertheless, there are many reasons why everyone should have at least a few basic math skills and be able to utilize math at a certain level.

Math teaches logic and order. Children can apply the mental discipline they acquire in math education to their daily lives. Businesses are aware of this because some will recruit math majors under the assumption that people who excel in math have developed their ability to reason. 

Math may also serve as a platform for practicing and honing critical-thinking abilities. When students are asked to explain how they came up with a solution to a challenging issue or to explain the principles underlying formula or technique, this is an illustration of mathematical and critical thinking.

Without basic math skills, independent living is virtually impossible. Early elementary school years are when children first learn about money, and later grades are when they can compute percentages and fractions

It’s critical to have faith in your child’s capacity for mathematical growth. Supporting children to become mathematicians requires a growth mindset or the conviction that we can continue to learn and improve in math. 

Children are influenced by their parents’ attitudes. They can pick up on adults’ anxiety when it comes to mathematics or when they make comments like “some individuals are just not good at math.” Particularly, girls take up on older women’s views. To foster a positive attitude, try stating, “Let me try to figure it out,” rather than, “I’m not good at math.” Be problem-solving-oriented.

How will my child learn math?

Children learn math best through activities that enable them to explore, think, solve problems and explain the solutions. 

When children can relate mathematical methods and concepts to their personal experiences, they learn more quickly. They can “see” the concepts being taught by utilizing ordinary things (like measuring the surface of a desk) and engaging in routine activities (like reporting weather trends over the past month). 

Learning how to solve problems is a crucial component of math education. Trial and error are promoted as a way for kids to learn how to solve problems and build their study skills. Ultimately, however, most math skills kids learn are taught in school. In this context, it’s often helpful to have a handy study guide that they build and maintain all throughout the school year.

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How to Create a Math Study Guide

With a simple Google search, you will find numerous tips and games to help your kid with math at an early age. But what about high school students? 

Helping your teenager with their math class or making them spend more time dealing with math is not as easy as it may be in elementary school. 

 

Here is a complete breakdown of how to teach your kid to create a math study guide for their next test prep, in just a few simple steps:

Get organized

Make sure you have a good grasp of the syllabus. You can then break it down into several index cards or pages of a notebook so they can be freely reorganized in whatever order seems most logical for you. It’s crucial to adhere to the curriculum, but what’s most important is to customize learning according to your needs.

It may help to create a study checklist to ensure you don’t leave any gaps when creating the study guide framework. Include checkpoints derived from the terminology and all of the content bullet points.

Because the study notes will be structured around this checklist, this is a crucial stage.

Define terminology

Follow the list checkpoint by checkpoint. Make sure you understand all of the terms; and if you don’t, make sure there’s room to write down definitions later, once you’ve covered the material.

Give each definition example phrases in context. These terms may be used in tests, therefore this will be beneficial.

Include formulas

Make careful to add a summary of all the necessary formulas. If a formula is demonstrated in a worked example solution, make sure you’ve got a way to link from the list of formulas to their practical use cases.

Even though the formula is provided on the data/formula sheet, studying it next to the content or theory will increase the likelihood that you will remember the necessary formulas and keywords when you encounter a question that requires them.

When exam time comes, this best practice will leave you with stronger mental connections between topics.

Add images and graphics

If the textbook or online searches turn up relevant or valuable example images and graphics, save them! Or even better, replicate the images by hand. It might help to better understand the processes and formulas of a topic.

Include how-to guides

Use review materials/assignments or old homework to write down step by step solutions for each type of problem.

Solving math problems might be quite challenging if you don’t know where to begin or which approach to take. It may all become extremely confusing very quickly. And that’s when a lot of folks just give up. But that’s not a solution. 

You only need to employ the right strategy if you want to get better at math problem-solving. Step by step math solving is the greatest method to master math. Build up to new topics by constructing a solid foundation from all the previous pieces of information learned in previous lessons.

Flag, star, and highlight

Write notes, color code, and use visuals to make connections between terminology and formulas or chapters.

Check work

Go back and check the work and make sure you haven’t missed anything or add more notes or material if needed.

Assemble your study guide

Whenever it’s time to prepare for a test, if you’ve kept concise and relevant note cards, you’ll be able to gather them all together for review.

Make sure you know where and why they struggle with math, so you know how to help them. Read more: 4 Reasons Your Teen is Struggling with Math.

Helping your kid with their math homework is not an easy task, but with Mathleaks, you can find everything you need and help your kid succeed. Explore our affordable plans here and download our math solving app to use anywhere, anytime! Learn more

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