Prealgebra in younger grades!!! Math 1512

       Prealgebra is something that we should be teaching in the younger grades. If we start teaching our students algebra when their younger, the hope is that they will be less afraid of it when they get older. One strategy to teaching prealgebra is teaching kids to generalize patterns and ideas on their own, so that they can form their own language to help them solve problems. Students are more likely to retain information if they learned the material on their own. A great way to help students as the teacher is to also use the children's language to teach word problems. An example is by using something your students are really into such as "power rangers," to form a word problem.
       Teaching prealgebra at a younger age is also just good for students to start building their self esteem in math. If they have been doing prealgebra for years then when they get to the older grades algebra will be less scary. During my elementary years I was not introduced to the prealgebra strategies discussed above. I think if I would have, I would not be so afraid of math. Also, I would be better at linking the stuff I learned in math to real life problems.
       I do strongly believe that using these prealgebra strategies at such an early age is a good idea. As teachers, we need to work on eliminating discouragement in students when it comes to math. Students need to be encouraged on a regular basis with teachers saying "you can do it." Below is a link supporting prealgebra in younger grades. The site also gives what algebra should be taught in what grade.
http://www.nctm.org/news/content.aspx?id=12326
Article advocating for algebra at an earlier age
http://www.borenson.com/Testimonials/ProductReviews/CatchThemYoungTheGuardian/tabid/920/Default.aspx