Tip #215 from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents (McKinley, Trombly) "...the more they stay the same"

Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly.

#215

...The More They Stay The Same (Strategies for + -)

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.

~Maya Angelou

In the previous idea, you read about the fact that the way teachers teach math concepts to your child might be different from the way you learned how to do them yourself. However, some things never change. Here are a few basic concepts to reinforce with your child that will help her to become stronger in math:

● It is important to transition from counting on her fingers to using mental math (visualizing the math in her head). One way to reinforce this is by using a number line for a while. She can actually count on or back by moving her finger across the numbers to "see" the adding or subtracting.

● Use counters for tough math. They are fun and incredibly helpful for visualizing. Just like training wheels, they won’t be necessary forever. She will ditch them when she is ready.

● Another great way to help her is by showing her how to visualize the standard configuration of numbers 1-10. Dominoes represent a perfect and natural way to see and memorize the way numbers look as dots. You can make up games with them, too, by putting the standard configurations on flash cards and playing some of the games in this chapter. Once she memorizes that 5 means 4 corner dots and one in the center, she can “see’ it in her mind and use that to add or subtract instead of her fingers.

● Counting On is a great strategy for adding. It simply involves saying the larger of the two numbers in your head and then counting up the other number. Again, doing this less on fingers and more using mental math is desirable, e.g., 12+ 4 would sound like, “12... 13, 14, 15, 16; my answer is 16.” This helps your child see that she doesn’t need to count up to the first number but rather just say it and count on.

● For subtraction, there are really two strategies that should be considered. In both, though, you are finding the difference between two numbers. If the two numbers are far apart or the number being subtracted is small, counting back is best. Say the first number aloud, and then count down that many steps, e.g., 18-3 would sound like, “18... 17, 16, 15; my answer is 15.”

However, if the second number is close to the first, sometimes counting up is a much faster solution. For example, for 17-12, you might start with the 12 and count the number of steps it takes to get up to 17 (keeping track, using mental math). Say, “12... 13, 14, 15, 16, 17; it took five steps so my answer is 5.” Try some problems both ways to show your child that, either counting up or down, the answer is the same!

Cindy McKinley Alder Patti Trombly

For more posts about the authors and their books (this is not the only one), click HERE.
For excerpts from more books, click HERE.
For more excerpts from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents, click HERE.
For more posts about books about parenting, click HERE.

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