Bringing Families Along: Helping Parents Support Math at Home

Make back-to-school night count

If your school holds an open house or back-to-school night, use it to work through a problem that shows real understanding of a topic families already know. This is critical. Ideally, they’ll leave asking, “Why didn’t they teach it to us this way?”

If you can’t meet families face-to-face, a brochure, short video, or simple note about your class and CPM’s resources works well. Adding a link to cpm.org to your regular messages reminds families where to find answers to many of their questions.

Let students teach their families

Send home one problem related to recent class work, and ask each student to explain their work to a family member. Ask the adult to answer a few short questions about the concept and summarize their student’s explanation.

Point families to CPM’s free resources

• Parent Guide. A free, downloadable guide in the eBook for families who want to follow along in class or work with their student on a specific concept.
• Math Notes and Homework Help. The Math Notes boxes in the text and CPM Homework Help in the eBook support families who want to help with homework.
• Help Your Student. CPM’s page for families, including Parent Tips of the Week at the bottom of the page. The tips remind families how to find help and how to question and support their student without taking over the work.

Don’t risk letting misinterpretations or misconceptions develop. Be proactive and positive from the start.

Changing math: how families can help

Share these ideas with families:

• Talk with your student about why mathematics matters for their future.
• Help them believe they can learn mathematics.
• Encourage them to study and take notes.
• Ask questions about what they’re doing in class.
• If your student asks for help, ask questions that lead them to figure out the problem themself.
• Stay aware of current research about learning mathematics.