Does your child watch television on a regular basis? By the third grade, most children regularly watch television shows, including commercials. Why not utilize the extra time during commercial breaks to do some practice with 3rd grade math word problems? Here are some tips to help.
Have a List Ready
Your child cannot do something he is not prepared for. Keep a list of 3rd grade math word problems near the television, along with sharpened pencils and scrap paper. This ensures that your child is not able to use the excuse of not being able to find the work to keep from doing the problems.
Make It Challenging
Challenge your child to see if he can complete one word problem during the first commercial. If he can, increase the challenge, asking him to do two word problems during the next commercial. Keep increasing or changing the challenge to keep him interested. By making it a contest, he is more likely to stick with the activity.
Integrate the Show
As you create the sheet of math word problems, integrate the show to encourage your child to be interested in the problems at hand. Using characters or situations from the show, create engaging word problems that your child will want to tackle. Who wouldn’t want to see how many pieces of pizza their favorite cartoon character could eat, after all?
Use the Mute Button
Commercials are designed to grab the attention of your child. Insist that your child use the mute button during the commercials to avoid distractions. This will make the 3rd grade math word problems more interesting, because there won’t be anything else for your child to work on during that time.
Introduce the Tablet
Do you have a tablet? Consider using that as a tool to get 3rd grade math world problems into your child’s TV viewing time. Have your child use the tablet and a math tutoring app to access grade-specific word problems during the commercial break. This will limit the need for you to track the work, keep pencil and paper handy and grade the problems.
With a program like Thinkster Math, your child can get instant feedback at the point of learning to see where he is going wrong and what he is doing right. This lets you capitalize on this valuable time without taking too much of your own time away from the other demands you face. Invest in Thinkster today, and never lose out on those valuable moments spent watching TV commercials again.
