What to do with a student who makes LOTS of algebra errors?

[Erica in PA]

I'm sure what to do with my eighth grader. He's in Lial Algebra, and doing great with the concepts, but as usual with him in any math, he makes *tons* of careless errors along the way. In a set of 35 problems, it's not unusual for him to get more than half wrong, due to silly mistakes. It could be anything from copying the problem incorrectly, to forgetting to use a negative sign, to a silly computation error. On days when he is doing his regular daily work, I have him go back and redo all the problems until they are all correct. However, I just graded his first test and he got a 70%. When he was younger, I would have him go back and redo the ones he got wrong, but I'm wondering if I should allow him that opportunity now that he's older. If he were in school, his teacher would let that grade stand, and just move on. Is that what you would do?

Again, I *know* that he understands the concepts, so it's not that the material is too difficult for him. I have sat down with him and made sure he understood. He's had this problem all the way through elementary math, too, so it's not that he's not ready for algebra.

How would you handle this situation?

[MIch elle]

at least for awhile. If he can slow down and do most of those 17 or so problems with little or no errors then you know he's hurrying to get the work done. Or have him do half the problems in one session and then later in the day do the other half.

[mom2paul]

I have added ALEKS to supplement Algebra this year and it's going great. They MUST get the answer right or will have to repeat. This may teach him to be very careful in his computations. They usually have a free trial offer. Not sure how old this link is:

http://www.aleks.com/video/k12_aleks_free_trial

[MomsintheGarden]

We use Chalkdust, so YMMV for another program, but this is what I do for carelessness.

1. Make sure student is informed by both parents that carefulness is very important in Algebra. Most mistakes and difficulties in upper-level math (Calculus, etc.) are due to Algebra. Ds is a math major (sophomore) in college - he says the calculus concepts are not difficult, but the Algebra is the hard part. The student must hear the lecture multiple times.

2. Assign fewer problems per section. Look through and make sure you cover all the concepts and types, i.e., one from this group and one from the next. 10-12 is a good number to start with.

3. Absolutely insist that your student show all of his work, even though it is "dumb" or "stupid" because that step was soooo easy, etc. Use lots of paper (one of my children was afraid of using too much paper, so she wrote very small and could not read her own writing). Many of my children's problem sets take 3+ sheets of paper, front and back. That's ok!

4. Painstakingly check each problem yourself. Never let your student look at the Solutions Manual. Draw arrows to lines that have errors with hints. Have the student rework each problem. Make HIM figure out the errors as much as possible. If the student does the wrong problem, correct it and make him do the one he should have. The trick is to make it easier for him to do it right the first time than to have to go over it again. And, sometimes he will need to miss on a special event or privilege if he has to redo an assignment.

5. Assign new problems for extra practice that match the ones missed. The student should praised enthusiastically and generously for those he has done right.

6. Routinely assess the student for the types of errors most commonly made, and reward work he does to overcome them.

7. Discuss the future - how being careful in math will teach carefulness in many other things.

I cannot stress how important it is to develop good work habits in Algebra. You must slow down and get this right now or math will be much harder for him in the future.

One more thing - this advice is for a student who is simply careless, not for one who needs help with concepts.

Just some advice from a mom who has been there!
GardenMom

[OLG]

Good suggestions already!

I personally think it is sometimes age related and part of the "learning process" since my bright math student did this too for awhile. Just be warmly persistent in getting a focus/concentration on first copying the problem correctly, then move to requiring checking before moving on to the next problem. You can make it a game for them to find their own mistakes and even reward for work where those silly mistakes don't happen. We did see significant improvement with age too. My ds found it very frustrating to "have" to slow down to avoid mistakes when he really undersstood the concepts so the suggestion to cut back on the number of problems is another excellent way to help in that arena.

Good luck!

Mary

[Julie in MN]

My 8th grader's doing algebra & he's a very casual youngest child.

I would talk with your son. My son claimed he didn't try because of so many repetitive problems. So I agreed to decrease the problems. But I reserved the right to reassign all the "undone" problems if he got too many wrong, because that would show us that he needed more practice than he realized.

As he gets closer to a test, I take this more seriously. If he's been getting some wrong, he may do every problem in the lesson just before a test.

He also (on his own initiative) decided to resume some math facts drills (we are able to use Kumon because I work there). He's in a little math club and I think the comparison with other kids has helped him realize his former speed is drooping.

I feel a big task at our house right now is transitioning ds from elementary, where everything is hand-chosen for interest and relevance, to high school, where some tasks must just be done. I try to achieve balance since it's one of the benefits of homeschooling, and I am really very flexible. But the transition must be endured to some degree, to benefit my son's future. We discussed memorizing science taxonomy today and I compared it to the Karate Kid -- where painting the fence may not make sense to the boy, but he must just obey and do as his teacher decides is best!

Just chatting about my day. Maybe your son's solutions will look different. But I'm right there with ya,
Julie

[Laura Corin]

I did two things with Calvin. Firstly I took him through exactly what I meant by 'checking your work', as he really didn't have an idea of how to do it. Once he understood what was expected, I started assigning extra work to do in his own time any time he made more than a couple of silly mistakes per exercise. It took a while, but it worked.

Laura

[LoriM]

When he was younger, I would have him go back and redo the ones he got wrong, but I'm wondering if I should allow him that opportunity now that he's older. If he were in school, his teacher would let that grade stand, and just move on. Is that what you would do?

How would you handle this situation?

In my classroom (I teach in a small classical school), students may work corrections on tests for up to half of their points back. So, that would be one option. (They must do that without my assistance, naturally. If *I* work the correction, they don't get the points.) Another option would be to give him an alternate form of the test (same questions, different numbers) and average the two grades.

If you are going to let test grades stand, middle school is the time to start that. And you need to start issuing 6 week (or quarterly) report cards, so that *he* knows where he stands. Plus tie some sort of reward to the difference between casual error-B boy and attentive-A boy. :)

[Nan in Mass]

Someone here suggested that I have my son write all the signs in a different colour. My son did it for about a month and it cleared up most of his errors. You could use colour for other things, like () or denominators or whatever, also.
-Nan

[Jann in TX]

90% of all Algebra 1 errors can be classified as 'silly mistakes'... a dropped sign or something like 2+3= 6

The 'concept' is a whole--the complete problem at this level.

The trick is to find what motivates your student. I've had a few students who made fewer careless mistakes when told they would be given extra problems for any problem missed. Some of my students did well with a reduced problem load--but I ALWAYS had them work every problem in the chapter review and gave them 2-3 days to complete it. I still do not recommend reducing the problem load for students who make careless mistakes--I see that as being more of a REWARD... (but this is just me).

I teach my students how to show their work--using a vertical format instead of a horizontal one really helps....

If one of my students (especialy in a 1 on 1 situation) makes a grade of less than 90% on a test I will personally evaluate their understanding then decide if we need to go back and rework the chapter (or parts of the chapter)--or if it is better to just move on (if the concept will be presented again later in the text). If a student makes less than an 89% I ALWAYS go back and re-teach/re-work as much of the chapter as needed. I focus on understanding over scheduling.

I teach from Lials. If your son made this test grade on chapter 1 or 2 I would be less inclined to worry. After chapter 3 the text builds more on itself and if I let a 'tiny' concept slip it will come back as a larger error later on.

Feel free to e-mail or PM me if you have any specific questions or need suggestions on how to re-teach a concept (in order to prevent the little errors).

Jann--who is typing this from a beautiful beach in Kona, Hawaii while my children are at home in Texas playing in the snow flurries!

[Colleen]

I don't agree with you, Jann, when you say that a student is not understanding the concepts if he's making "silly" errors. Ack! Did I just disagree with my favorite math guru?:tongue_smilie: I typically defer to you on this subject and am indebted to you for helping me along in this subject (math in general and Lial's in particular) over the years. But I think it's very possible (and have children who prove the case;)) to understand a particular concept yet make the kind of errors Erica mentioned.

How is copying a problem incorrectly, for example, a sign of not understanding the concept? It's carelessness is what it is, and it sounds like it's a long-standing struggle for Erica's son. In fact, I think I recall her asking about it in the past, before her son was even studying algebra. (Sorry if my memory serves me incorrectly on that, Erica.) And of course, at this age, the absent-mindedness ramps up.

I do agree with you in that I wouldn't assign fewer problems. When my oldest was in the "silly mistakes" stage he just had to repeat the problems. He himself realized how much time he was wasting when he copied a problem incorrectly, added when he should have subtracted, etc. In his case, this was primarily an issue when he first started using Lial's BCM, but the silly mistakes decreased over time and imo it was more a matter of maturity than anything else.

[swimmermom3]

Erica, you are doing many of the things I have done with my now freshman ds who sounds like a twin of your child. It has been a slow, painful process; however, his work has improved dramatically. MomsintheGarden had some other great ideas to help you ride out the time.


We use Chalkdust, so YMMV for another program, but this is what I do for carelessness.

1. Make sure student is informed by both parents that carefulness is very important in Algebra. Most mistakes and difficulties in upper-level math (Calculus, etc.) are due to Algebra. Ds is a math major (sophomore) in college - he says the calculus concepts are not difficult, but the Algebra is the hard part. The student must hear the lecture multiple times.

2. Assign fewer problems per section. Look through and make sure you cover all the concepts and types, i.e., one from this group and one from the next. 10-12 is a good number to start with.

3. Absolutely insist that your student show all of his work, even though it is "dumb" or "stupid" because that step was soooo easy, etc. Use lots of paper (one of my children was afraid of using too much paper, so she wrote very small and could not read her own writing). Many of my children's problem sets take 3+ sheets of paper, front and back. That's ok!

4. Painstakingly check each problem yourself. Never let your student look at the Solutions Manual. Draw arrows to lines that have errors with hints. Have the student rework each problem. Make HIM figure out the errors as much as possible. If the student does the wrong problem, correct it and make him do the one he should have. The trick is to make it easier for him to do it right the first time than to have to go over it again. And, sometimes he will need to miss on a special event or privilege if he has to redo an assignment.

5. Assign new problems for extra practice that match the ones missed. The student should praised enthusiastically and generously for those he has done right.

6. Routinely assess the student for the types of errors most commonly made, and reward work he does to overcome them.

7. Discuss the future - how being careful in math will teach carefulness in many other things.

I cannot stress how important it is to develop good work habits in Algebra. You must slow down and get this right now or math will be much harder for him in the future.

One more thing - this advice is for a student who is simply careless, not for one who needs help with concepts.

Just some advice from a mom who has been there!
GardenMom

What I mean by that is quite possibly you are looking at a developmental stage. Even in the short time I have been on this forum, I have seen numerous posts on boys and careless math mistakes and strangely enough, they all seem to be about the same age as your son. Hmmm. Coincidence?

Be consistent and hang in there.

[Nan in Mass]

Just remembered some more things we did to reduce errors:
-Put a sticky under the problem you are working and check THREE TIMES to make sure you 've copied it onto the paper correctly.
-Copy the unsolved problem onto the paper (if it isn't a word problem) first, then start solving it.
-Write BIGGER. (Very important)
-Work down the page, lining up the equal sign and as much else as possible so it is easier to see when you've miscopied something.
-Leave some space between each rewrite so there is room to cross out and rewrite when cancelling, or write a small diagonal -2x next to a +2x if you have decided to subtract 2x from both sides of the equation.
-Cross out lightly anything that has canceled itself out so you can see more easily not to rewrite that bit.
-Do only one or two steps at a time and then rewrite. Rewrite the equation frequently. You have to get over not wanting to do much writing in algebra. This was a big change from previous math problems for my children. It took half a year of arguing with them to get them automatically rewriting the problem every step or two.
-Review the multiplication tables at the beginning of every year.

I agree that it is possible to understand the concepts and get half the problems wrong. My children have done it many times. At the beginning of algebra, though, there are many little rules that have to be learned so well that they become automatic, rules like gathering up like terms or multiplying two negative numbers. We paused after the first few chapters and went through Keys to Algebra 1-3 to cement those little rules. It was time well spent.

-Nan

[rockala]

using Videotext algebra. At convention Tom, the program creator, had us assign half the problems, odd or evn however you want to. If those are 100 right, you are done for the day. My ds knows if he misses just one he has to do the rest. this has worked well.

For us if it is a conceptual problem he comes to me for help long before trying to do half of them, so that is not a concern. As you all have mentioned mostly it is the going to quickly that causes errors at this level. You need to go slowly enough to also remember postive/negative changes as well.

Kathy

[JFS in IL]

Realize that for a couple weeks, at least, it is not going to be about the math but about learning to be mroe careful in his work.

He MUST redo ALL work that contains errors. He must show his work - you go over it with a fine tooth comb, and circle ENTIRE problems that contain errors. He MUST redo the entire problem error-free. Do not jsut point out the errors - he must find them!!!

He will learn to be more careful the first time so he doesn't get stuck redoing his math over and over and over (at the expense of more fun activities.)

You are not allowed to lose your cool, either - you must stay calm and act as if you are not uptight about math having to take so long. Do not let it become a power struggle - keep ds focused on learning to do his work more slowly and carefully.

This lesson will be good for him in many aspects of life, not just math.

Oh - and for ds we found doing work on graph paper helped him keep things lined up right.

Good luck! (been there...done that.)

(ps - do I follow my own advice and proofred my potes for erorrs be4 posting? Nah...)

[Karin]

90% of all Algebra 1 errors can be classified as 'silly mistakes'... a dropped sign or something like 2+3= 6

The 'concept' is a whole--the complete problem at this level.



This is one time when I don't completely agree with you (and you're one of my math gurus!). Perhaps most of the time there is a conceptual misunderstanding, but sometimes if a dc is in a hurry s/he can make calculation errors that disappear as soon as s/he slows down. My dd has done that before. I didn't have that problem, but do remember one frustrated teacher finally grading some of my problems wrong because in my hurry I turned all the letters into x & y (or x, y, z) instead of using the letters in the problem and she wanted me to use the letters given. That was the only mistake in those problems, btw, but she was an older teacher and a real stickler (right or wrong, I'll let you be the judge on that one, since I'm not an Algebra teacher.)

However, I do have to agree with Laura Corin about self correcting. My dd became much more careful in her work once she started doing that. By self correcting, I don't mean looking up the answers, but checking to see if her answer is correct (now she's in Geometry, so it's a bit different with proofs.)

The latest thing I've finally stopped my dd from doing is crowding up the page so I can tell what's where.

[Jann in TX]

In Algebra 1 the concepts are more about the actual process than application.
I consider elementary math to be like learning the alphabet.
Algebra 1 is when the students first start to put together 2-3 letter words. If a student is making careless errors (like sounding out an 'd' like an 'f') they are not understanding the 'concept' that you need to pay attention if you want to make sense out of the symbols you are using. They MAY understand the 'concept' that each letter makes/contributes to a sound in a word--but until they can demonstrate that they CAN do so correctly they are not really reading.

I just handle speed errors differently at this level--it is important to draw the student's attention to the fact that they need to be exact--or their answer will be wrong. Period. I rather nip this habit in bud.

If your student routinely drops (forgets) a negative sign they are not demonstrating that they understand (can use) the 'concept' of negative numbers within a larger or multi-step problem. They may 'understand' the general steps needed to work the problem--but if they miss the tiny mini-concepts within the problem the WHOLE concept (meaning the problem type) is incorrect. This is why I say that if they are making these errors often they are not understanding the material.

Other posters have listed some great ideas to try with your student in order to work towards mastery.

[StephanieZ]

I'm sure what to do with my eighth grader. He's in Lial Algebra, and doing great with the concepts, but as usual with him in any math, he makes *tons* of careless errors along the way. In a set of 35 problems, it's not unusual for him to get more than half wrong, due to silly mistakes. It could be anything from copying the problem incorrectly, to forgetting to use a negative sign, to a silly computation error. On days when he is doing his regular daily work, I have him go back and redo all the problems until they are all correct. However, I just graded his first test and he got a 70%. When he was younger, I would have him go back and redo the ones he got wrong, but I'm wondering if I should allow him that opportunity now that he's older. If he were in school, his teacher would let that grade stand, and just move on. Is that what you would do?

Again, I *know* that he understands the concepts, so it's not that the material is too difficult for him. I have sat down with him and made sure he understood. He's had this problem all the way through elementary math, too, so it's not that he's not ready for algebra.

How would you handle this situation?

My oldest dd had EXACTLY that problem when she started algebra a couple years ago. A year or so later, after several fits and starts and two curric changes. . . and a half year slogging through the first few chapters of the eventually successful curric. . . she just GREW OUT OF IT.

I think it was really just a maturity issue. My dd was NOT mature enough at 10 or 11 but suddenly became so around the time she turned 12. After that experience, I dragged my heels with my younger son on pre-alg. . . hoping to bide time. He'll go into algebra around the time he turns 11 despite my year of dilly dallying. Time will tell if things go smoother for him. . . or if I need to find some other diversion.

Anyhow, IME, there just is a maturity factor that comes into play in algebra, because each problem involves many (dozens) of steps, the child has to have very high accuracy/precision in order to be successful. I am not sure of how to accelerate the acquisition of those skills other than just waiting, which I can see is not as good an option with an 8th grader as it was for a younger student.

[Karin]

In Algebra 1 the concepts are more about the actual process than application.
I consider elementary math to be like learning the alphabet.
Algebra 1 is when the students first start to put together 2-3 letter words. If a student is making careless errors (like sounding out an 'd' like an 'f') they are not understanding the 'concept' that you need to pay attention if you want to make sense out of the symbols you are using. They MAY understand the 'concept' that each letter makes/contributes to a sound in a word--but until they can demonstrate that they CAN do so correctly they are not really reading.

I just handle speed errors differently at this level--it is important to draw the student's attention to the fact that they need to be exact--or their answer will be wrong. Period. I rather nip this habit in bud.

If your student routinely drops (forgets) a negative sign they are not demonstrating that they understand (can use) the 'concept' of negative numbers within a larger or multi-step problem. They may 'understand' the general steps needed to work the problem--but if they miss the tiny mini-concepts within the problem the WHOLE concept (meaning the problem type) is incorrect. This is why I say that if they are making these errors often they are not understanding the material.

Other posters have listed some great ideas to try with your student in order to work towards mastery.


Okay, this makes sense. I haven't had this problem of routinely dropping the negative sign, etc, but I'm glad to know this before my second dd starts Algebra. My eldest is the kind who likes to solve it in her head and got it right most of the time, but I did make her learn to write out all the steps which came in very handy when she started Geometry and had to start writing proofs. They are different, but it's the same idea of writing things out.

[Mommyfaithe]

I'm sure what to do with my eighth grader. He's in Lial Algebra, and doing great with the concepts, but as usual with him in any math, he makes *tons* of careless errors along the way. In a set of 35 problems, it's not unusual for him to get more than half wrong, due to silly mistakes. It could be anything from copying the problem incorrectly, to forgetting to use a negative sign, to a silly computation error. On days when he is doing his regular daily work, I have him go back and redo all the problems until they are all correct. However, I just graded his first test and he got a 70%. When he was younger, I would have him go back and redo the ones he got wrong, but I'm wondering if I should allow him that opportunity now that he's older. If he were in school, his teacher would let that grade stand, and just move on. Is that what you would do?

Again, I *know* that he understands the concepts, so it's not that the material is too difficult for him. I have sat down with him and made sure he understood. He's had this problem all the way through elementary math, too, so it's not that he's not ready for algebra.

How would you handle this situation?

I have gotten pretty tough about this...especially since having kids in college showed me I HAD to teach my children deadlines...even deadlines to master material. So....the grade would stand AND he would be asked to correct any errors...showing me he understood where the error is and whether it was an error in computation, sign or concept.

I would show him how this effects his avaerage and give him a chance to drop his lowest and highest grade when I average all of his work at the end of the quarter (typical practice.)

I wouldn't be nasty about it...just matter of fact. If you and he would like, you could have him do extra problems for extra homework credit.

Just my cranky opinion :001_smile:
Faithe

[Mommyfaithe]

Just remembered some more things we did to reduce errors:
-Put a sticky under the problem you are working and check THREE TIMES to make sure you 've copied it onto the paper correctly.
-Copy the unsolved problem onto the paper (if it isn't a word problem) first, then start solving it.
-Write BIGGER. (Very important)
-Work down the page, lining up the equal sign and as much else as possible so it is easier to see when you've miscopied something.
-Leave some space between each rewrite so there is room to cross out and rewrite when cancelling, or write a small diagonal -2x next to a +2x if you have decided to subtract 2x from both sides of the equation.
-Cross out lightly anything that has canceled itself out so you can see more easily not to rewrite that bit.
-Do only one or two steps at a time and then rewrite. Rewrite the equation frequently. You have to get over not wanting to do much writing in algebra. This was a big change from previous math problems for my children. It took half a year of arguing with them to get them automatically rewriting the problem every step or two.
-Review the multiplication tables at the beginning of every year.

I agree that it is possible to understand the concepts and get half the problems wrong. My children have done it many times. At the beginning of algebra, though, there are many little rules that have to be learned so well that they become automatic, rules like gathering up like terms or multiplying two negative numbers. We paused after the first few chapters and went through Keys to Algebra 1-3 to cement those little rules. It was time well spent.

-Nan

Just to add one more...we make use of colored pens...different color for each step...so he can see each step. This really helps with visualizing the problems.

[Nan in Mass]

Yes, but I was dealing with a student who flipped d's and b's, for example, or reversed the order of the numbers when rewriting the problem. No matter how slowly and carefully he works, some days he just can't see the errors. And then other days, he's fine. If you are dealing with that sort of student, you have to put up with a certain amount of misreadings and miscopyings. He also had what we called brain-blip days when he forgot things he knew perfectly well. Don't we all do that sometimes? Well, he did it extra, especially when something had upset him. He improved suddenly when he turned 16, but it is probably something he always will have to deal with to some extent.

Not that I think you are wrong, just that it might not be that way with everyone....

-Nan

[Nan in Mass]

Another thing to watch for is whether they are just recognizing the concept when they meet it in obvious situations or whether they really understand it and remember to apply it on their own. Sometimes it is hard even for themselves to distinguish between the two, especially if they haven't had the difference pointed out to them.

[swimmermom3]

Yes, but I was dealing with a student who flipped d's and b's, for example, or reversed the order of the numbers when rewriting the problem. No matter how slowly and carefully he works, some days he just can't see the errors. And then other days, he's fine. If you are dealing with that sort of student, you have to put up with a certain amount of misreadings and miscopyings. He also had what we called brain-blip days when he forgot things he knew perfectly well. Don't we all do that sometimes? Well, he did it extra, especially when something had upset him. He improved suddenly when he turned 16, but it is probably something he always will have to deal with to some extent.

Not that I think you are wrong, just that it might not be that way with everyone....

-Nan

Nan, this is similar to my middle child that I wrote about in an earlier post on this thread. He asked to come home from ps in 7th grade. He hated math. We started in Saxon Algebra 1/2 because that matched what they were doing at the ps. The first two months he was home were spent making his work legible enough for me to correct it. At that point, I discovered he was missing about 75% of the problems due to some of the same things you described: flipped letters, numbers written in reverse, and missing signs.

Did I mention that this son moves at the speed of sound? I backed him up a level and we worked on the basics. We used graph paper. Math covered a certain window of time. If he finished in a hurry, he could sit and wait out the clock after he corrected each missed problem and did an extra one as well. If he missed 10 problems, he corrected those 10 and did 10 more. Every step has to be written out. He hates that. He can do so much in his head. Occasionally, I let him "narrate" his math. "Tell me step by step how you would solve this." If there is a 2nd or 3rd way to solve a problem this boy has found it. I still make him work it "the correct" way. I have no idea if my approach is okay. I do know that for Algebra 1, I can read his work, and he gets most problems correct the first try. He still occasionally flips numbers and misses signs. With age and constant grinding there is now hope for math. My goal is to turn him over to a gifted tutor I know who is better equipped to work with the lightning fast calculations he can do mentally and his desire to skip steps. Perhaps the nervous twitch in my left eye will then go away.:tongue_smilie:

[KAR120C]

Realize that for a couple weeks, at least, it is not going to be about the math but about learning to be mroe careful in his work.
Basically we took a couple weeks to work on How To Set Up Your Problem 101. This was things like neatness, certainly, but also things like "I don't want two equal signs on one line - when you have a new equation, drop down to a new line," and, "each step gets a new line" -- so if there's a parenthesis and a multiplier to distribute across it, that gets a line. No doing it in your head. He doesn't like to slow down like that, but my goodness the error rate improved after that little side-track!

We're about to do "How To Set Up Your Problem 201" -- he's doing fine with regular math right now, but we're getting into competition problems... really really complicated setup (with fairly simple calculations at the end) - but like Jann is saying, with these kinds of problems the point is the setup. He knows all the calculations but he makes mistakes putting it all together, and it's the putting it all together that makes the problem. So I'm sorting through problems I know he can do, but that aren't too obvious... and we're going to work on setting up your scratch paper, labeling diagrams, and writing formulae. It never really ends I guess... but he's getting better with each step!

[tex-mex]

5. Assign new problems for extra practice that match the ones missed. The student should praised enthusiastically and generously for those he has done right.

6. Routinely assess the student for the types of errors most commonly made, and reward work he does to overcome them.



I cannot stress how important it is to develop good work habits in Algebra. You must slow down and get this right now or math will be much harder for him in the future.



:iagree: Use a new set of similar problems before you move on to be sure he DOES understand the concept and has shown his work w/o "silly" errors. It took a while with my son in Junior High to realize this and now as a 9th grader -- he will show all of his work neatly and double check his work before turning it in.