If I see one more worksheet brought home from EnVision Math that teaches a "trick" to doing math I think I may explode! This week they are learning "compensation" to do multiplication.
It isn't just EnVision math.
My DD (in fifth grade no less) has had to re-learn addition and subtraction using goofy methods that involve writing a sentence with a boxes in them for each step of the problem. When subtracting five-digit numbers, she has to write five sentences for each step plus one for the answer. She has to write boxes around the numbers.
This has carried through to fraction arithmetic. Students aren't allowed to write
5/6 - 4/6 = 1/6
For a simple problem like this one, they have to rewrite the fractions in a box. I can't remember what they do, but it isn't something reasonable like
5-4/6. They also have to write (Don't carry). If the problem is slightly more complex (2 1/5 - 4/5), the written rigamarole gets very involved.
If things aren't written
just so, the kids lose points. DD has a test coming up. I told her I don't care if she loses points because she drew her box in the wrong place. All I care about is that she learns math (which she has to do at home with me).
