3 Things Your Student Must Do to Master Math I Next Year

Let's set the scene. Your student has worked hard in their math classes throughout middle school. They’ve tackled problems, memorized equations, studied textbooks, and taken tests. And now they’re ready for Math I.  Math I is the base of high school math and undoubtedly one of the most important math classes your student will ever take. Therefore, they need to understand the material and do well. But how can you ensure that your student truly masters the class and knocks it out of the park?

Keep reading :)

#1 Master the Basics 

Your student needs to have a solid, fundamental understanding of elementary and middle school math concepts. Most students in Math I suffer because of failure to master old concepts, not the new material. I like to call this swiss cheese learning. As students progress throughout math, they understand some concepts better than others. When a student neglects to truly go back and review the topics they struggled with even after the unit is over, it leaves a “hole” in their math education. All these holes can create a shaky foundation of math that will eventually crumble. That is why students hit a wall in Math I. If your student struggles with the basics (ex. equation solving, negative number rules, multiplying and dividing fractions) they need to review these concepts this summer before they start Math I.

#2 Stay on Top of Your Game

I’m assuming your student worked hard during Math 8 to learn the important Math skills necessary for Math I. Don’t let that hard work go to waste! A student needs to stay on top of those topics during the summer to truly excel in Math I when school rolls back around. The biggest mistake I see most students make is failing to review before Math I which causes them to forget most of what they learned. After all, 2.6 months of math skills are lost over the summer. This results in a student starting the school year behind, a tad bit sluggish, with a vague memory of the concepts they covered last year when they need to be more confident and on top of things then ever! Which leads me to my next point…

#3 Get a Head Start

Your student doesn’t have to wait months to start Math I. They can start right now! Allowing a student to get a head start on such an important class is by far one of the smartest strategies I’ve seen parents use. Parents contact me all the time to work with their student on Math I concepts they will see next year so that they start ahead not behind. Getting a head start on Math I enables students to become familiar with the material, therefore when they do see it in the classroom they are comfortable and confident. Instead of looking around and thinking “I’ve never done anything like this before, this is going to be terrible!” they can say “Hey! This actually looks familiar, I did it during the summer. I can do this”. Gamechanger.