Clever mums boost kids' maths skills

[영어도우미]

Clever mums boost kids' maths skills

 

 

Have you ever wondered why some children are so much better with numbers than other kids? New research shows that children who have well-educated mothers do better at maths at the age of 10. The study, conducted by the University of London, concludes that the education of a child's mother can boost the mathematical abilities of her child. Researchers conducted a long-term study into the reasons for the differences in children's numeracy skills by the time they reach secondary school. The biggest factor was the education of the mother and a good "home learning environment". In particular, a child who plays number games with his or her mother at home is more likely to do well in maths tests. Researchers also discovered that a good quality pre-school can greatly help in increasing maths skills in youngsters.

 

The research was led by Professor Edward Melhuish from Birkbeck College and is published in the journal 'Science'. His researchers interviewed dozens of parents about the kinds of activities they did with their children. Questions included how often mothers read stories to their children, sang songs and nursery rhymes and played number games. Professor Melhuish said: "The results indicated that the home learning environment, pre-school…and primary school all make separate, significant impacts [but] the mother's [education] is the strongest effect, there's no doubt about that." Melhuish added that not all well-educated mothers turned their children into mathematics geniuses. "There are quite a few well-educated people who do not provide a good home learning environment," he said.

 

http://breakingnewsenglish.com/0809/080903-maths.html

 

 

VOCABULARY LIST :

numeracy (n) - skill with numbers and mathematics
likely (adj) - possessing or displaying the qualities or characteristics that make something probable
youngster - a young person; a child or youth

 

 

DISCUSSION POINTS :

1. What springs to mind when you hear the word 'maths'? Were you good at maths at school? What or who boosted your

    mathematical abilities?
2. Are you surprised at the findings in this article?
3. What did your mother and father teach you? What do you think is the most important thing we can learn from our parents?
4. Did you play learning games with your parents? What activities did you most enjoy with your parents when you were a

    child?
5. Who did you learn more from, your mother or father?
6. Was your home a good learning environment?
7. Is your mother well-educated? How did your mother's education affect you?
8. Do you remember anything about your pre-school?
9. What would you like your children to learn from you?
10. What school subjects will you help your children with?