Mastering addition is essential for a strong
foundation in most math concepts. Reaching a desirable level of competency in
addition is necessary to pursue higher studies, appear in admission tests, and
choose from a wide range of career options. So, what can help young learners to
master addition besides addition worksheets? Get their addition in place early on with these useful math tips.
Make sure they understand
Math cannot be memorized, it can only be understood.
Addition will become a rote exercise to kids if they memorize rules and go on
solving addition worksheets without understanding its intricacies. For example,
have them add 3 more blocks to a pile of blocks you had already created and
then count the total number of blocks. Twist and tweak their learning process
to help them understand better.
Basic facts of math
Once the basic facts are mastered, children will not take
much time to solve mental addition problems. Use flash cards to help kids learn the basic concepts of
addition. Conduct mental addition drills with the kids to reinforce their
learning. Explain that addition and multiplication are two sides of the same
coin though this applies only to kids who have already learnt multiplication. Correlating
addition and multiplication solves half the problem!
Math hand-writing
Remember, reading an addition problem wrong because of poor
handwriting is a battle lost even before it began! Improve your child’s number
writing skills by downloading addition worksheets that include number-tracing
exercises along with addition problems. Or, if you have time, write down the
numbers neatly on her exercise book and have her trace them before going on to
solve problems.
Managing homework well
Practicing addition is often taken lightly. When kids are
given addition problems for homework, they tend to delay doing it because they
take addition, simplest but the most important match concept, for granted. This
is where parents must intervene and help the kids manage their homework well.
Explain the importance of addition time and again and encourage them to finish
their homework in time to avoid careless errors while solving them in a hurry
later on.
Simplifying addition word problems
It is often said,“To learn to solve addition problems, one
must solve addition problems”. Teach kids to read addition problems over and
over again. If need be, have them draw pictures to illustrate their problems. Read,
pause, and ponder at every step of the problem to understand it. Try
substituting the bigger problems in the addition problems with smaller numbers
to make it a little easier for them to follow.
Making math a regular exercise
Not just addition, make math a part of kids’ daily lives. Download
plenty of subtraction, multiplication, division, and addition worksheets and
have them choose their favorite topic and solve one every day.Have kids solve
addition problems in real-life situation – add up the numbers on a license
plate, birds on a tree, grains of a cereal in a bowl, etc. More than anything,
math is about ‘practice making it perfect’!
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