While much about the COVID-19 pandemic remains uncertain, we, The Lawson Academy, are here to help and support our students, parents and community through this time. We are all getting used to the new normal and making tremendous strides to make the best of it. In math class, we take time in each class to give students the opportunity to share their concerns and ideas that help them get through their day and Covid-19. It is our desire that each student is encouraged to do their best and if help is ever needed they know they can ask their teachers.
For many, math is a favorite subject but can definitely present challenges at times. Are students’ math struggles during the Covid-19 pandemic completely unprecedented? Yes and no.
Disruption in schools has also meant disruption in testing, so it’s been hard to pin down exactly how much the school closures and transitions in and out of virtual learning have affected students’ learning—but the evidence so far doesn’t bode well, particularly in math.
Math may be more sensitive to pandemic-related schooling disruptions for a few reasons, experts say, unlike reading, math is almost always formally learned at school and it can be more challenging for teachers to engage in effective math instructional practices via remote platforms.
One of the most common themes across learning loss research is the importance of parent support in student learning. Students with highly involved parents who report participating in educational activities over the summer tend to lose less ground. And early studies of responses to the pandemic have found schools are increasingly dependent on families to facilitate instruction during the current crisis.
We encourage families to integrate math conversations into their home lives. This will lessen math anxiety and prepare students to take on the challenges of math.
Life is riddled with change. Prices will go down or up. Birth rates can rise or decline. From year to year, the number of students at a school can change. The list continues and continues. To demonstrate if a number has changed in comparison to the initial amount, we sometimes define change as a percentage. Describing change as a percentage allows you to see whether the change is minor or significant more easily. For instance, understanding the percentage by which the population of a school has risen could be more beneficial. If it rose by 60%, that's a significant change that will have a big impact on the school. If the rise is just 2 percent, the school would not be impacted too much. In contrast with the original number, the change written as a percentage gives you a better idea of the change.
Determining whether the change is an increase or a decrease is fairly clear. If the new number is greater than the original, it is called a "percent increase." If the new amount is less than the original, it is called a "percent decrease."
There is more than one way for a percentage increase or decrease to be measured. Chances are you'll find a list of steps to take if you google how to locate the percentage of change. Be sure that you follow the instructions, because it's not just a process that you want to memorize and forget easily.
One way to find a percent of change is to use the formula: New Amount - Original Amount 
Original Amount. You will then change the decimal answer into a percent by moving the decimal two places to the left.
Here's an example: The cost of a jacket went from $5 to $6. What is the percentage change in the price of the jacket?
Step 1: Calculate the change (subtract old value from the new value)
Example: $6 - $5 = $1.
Step 2: Divide that change by the old value (you will get a decimal number)
$1 / $5 = 0.2
Step 3: Convert that to a percentage (by multiplying by 100 and adding a "%" sign)
0.2 x 100 = 20%
The percentage change in the price of the jacket is an increase of 20%. (When the new value is greater than the old value, it is a percentage increase, otherwise it is a decrease.)
Part of math entails dealing with positive and negative numbers in integers, and still it is a field that most children are unable to grasp. You can help your children quickly learn the fundamentals of positive and negative numbers by recalling a couple of simple rules.
ADDING INTEGERS
It seems daunting to add integers, but there are two laws that will work with any issue with addition.
SUBTRACTING INTEGERS
For most children, subtracting integers seems to be the trickiest process. However, subtraction can be easier for children to learn by taking three steps.
These simple concepts will give students a solid base for dealing with integer numbers in the future when the he/she starts to think about positive and negative values. Students should write these rules on an index card. During math time, they can then hold the card in front of them until they have memorized the rules.
This week, in all math classes, we have been focusing on identifying and classifying rational numbers. Students must have a firm understanding of sets and subsets of real numbers to make a connection with real-world situations.
Rational numbers are those of the p / q form, where q is not equal to zero. For example, all integers are rational numbers, since each integer can be written as follows in the form of p / q.
