Sharpening Young Children's Math Skills with 1st Grade Math Worksheets

Photo Courtesy - Jinx

From kindergarten onwards, many young children struggle to understand basic math concepts. This is not a reflection on their natural skills or aptitude – anyone can succeed in math if they have the right tools. Besides, teachers today have too few resources and too little time to adopt a personalized teaching approach in our over-crowded and under-funded education system.

Also, math is a subject where instruction must be guided by the child’s learning pace and not the other way around. Many desperate parents hire private tutors in a bid to boost their child’s faltering math skills, but find that it’s too little too late. The key is to help your child build a solid math foundation in his formative years. While there are many ways in which you can help, first grade math worksheets are probably the best means to unleash your child’s math potential. Here’s how they can help:

1st Grade Math Worksheets Capitalize on Technology

Kids as young as four or five use the latest digital tools with ease; just watch them go tap-tap-tap as they play games on their parents’ iPads or smartphones. Here’s your chance to put your child’s love for mobile technology  to good use – just download online 1st grade math worksheets on your gadget and get him started. The average first grader will happily solve math problems if they appear on a screen but wouldn’t spare a glance for paper-based worksheets. Besides, online worksheets for first grade (or any grade really) are highly visual and interactive learning materials that appeal to young children’s short attention spans. This is also a great way to squeeze in some on-the-go instruction into busy schedules.

1st Grade Math Worksheets Allow Parents to Monitor Children’s Learning
Once your child falls behind in the subject, catching up with the rest of the class will be difficult. Math topics build off one another so it’s important to understand each topic thoroughly before moving on to the next one. Using online 1st grade math worksheets for your child allows you to monitor his progress and determine if he needs extra tutoring. They enable you to stay alert by reviewing his scores and identifying topics that need to be buttressed outside the classroom.

Do remember that while 1st grade math worksheets will definitely help your little scholar, they are not magic. They can only be used as extra help or as a means to let gifted students go beyond their grade level and/or school curriculum. Use them appropriately and get your child comfortable with math early.

  

 

 

Math Games for Kids with Autism

Teaching math to children with autism is challenging on multiple levels. Broad difficulties like the inability to remember a long sequence of instructions, trouble with language skills and the inability to generalize ideas makes math as a subject particularly difficult to master. However, this doesn’t mean that kids with autism cannot be taught math; rather, it takes special teaching approaches and a great deal of patience from the teacher in order to help an autistic child learn and understand math.

Using Math Games for Autistic Kids

For autistic kids, one of the biggest challenges in understanding math is understanding the language of math. While teachers in traditional classrooms use language to explain mathematical concepts, autistic kids with weak language skills cannot benefit at all from this teaching style. Using manipulatives and demonstrating the concepts works far better in this case. 

                                                       

                                            Photo by jimmiehomeschoolmom

There are many simple math games for kids with autism, designed to help them grasp basic concepts with ease. Notice how the following games are structured to appeal to autistic kids.

1.       Find the Number

This math game for kids is very simple and structured, making it easy for children with autism. It helps them master number concept by associating numbers with the visual imagery of dots. 

Cut out large index cards and number them from 1 to 10. Cut out another ten index cards of the same size. Cut out fifty five small dots from foam paper. For each number card, stick a corresponding number of dots on a blank index card. 

Begin with the numbers 1 to 3. Show the child a number card and ask him to give you the corresponding dotted card. Then show the child a dotted card and ask for the corresponding number card. Gradually add more numbers as the child masters the ones you’re practicing. The foam dots are meant to appeal to the child’s sense of touch. You can replace the dotted cards with manipulatives like toy cars or blocks if you think it will work better.

2.       Potato Numbers

This is another math game dealing with number concept. It allows autistic kids to work with their hands and gives them a visual representation of what each number corresponds to.

Cut out a long strip of cardboard about 20” long and 5” wide. Cut out a white strip of paper to cover the cardboard. Glue the paper to the cardboard strip. Draw five lines across the width of the strip, dividing it into six equal parts. Draw another line across the length of the strip dividing it into half. Cut three medium-sized potatoes into half so that each half can sit comfortably in one of the boxes on the strip. Write the numbers from 1 to 6 along the bottom row of the strip and arrange the potatoes in the boxes along the top of the strip.

Give the child 21 toothpicks and have him stick the right number of toothpicks into each potato, corresponding to the number written below it. For a more challenging task, you can write the numbers out of order instead.

These are just a few examples of math games for autistic kids. It is important to remember that no two autistic kids learn the same way. Each child has his or her own set of strengths and weaknesses, and a math game that may work brilliantly with one child may get you nowhere with the second. However, with many broad similarities among kids with autism, you could try the same game with the other kids and find it successful with a few more students in the class.

In general, a trial-and-error method is best when coming up with the best techniques to teach kids with autism. With each trial, analyse the method used to figure out why it worked or not, and use your conclusions when choosing other teaching methods for the same child.