Helping Children Master Basic Addition Facts
The Importance of Teaching Early Addition Strategies
Oct 15, 2009
According to an article written by Liu Song of Beijing Normal University (and reprinted on Child Research Net), teachers should be proactive when teaching mathematics strategies to children as they guide them to apply these strategies when attempting to solve problems. Song also states that teachers should teach children to utilize multiple strategies when solving arithmetic problems going on to say that it is necessary to teach arithmetic strategies as early as kindergarten.
This article discusses three key addition strategies:
Start With the Greater Number and Count On to Add
Introduce the number line to young children and show them how to find the sum of a basic addition problem by counting on. Place left index finger on the larger addend and then use right index finger to count on the number of spaces equal to the second addend.
For the problem 3 + 7, touch the number 7 on the number line with left hand and count on three spaces with right hand. The sum arrived at will be the number 10. Explain to the child that 10 is the sum of 7 + 3. Have the children try it themselves and offer them several more addition problems to work out on their own.
(The number line is a wonderful mathematical tool!)
Doubles and Doubles Plus One
Doubles in addition means that both the addends in an addition problem are the same. These types of problems are easy to remember and fun for children to learn. Start with the doubles facts with sums that are less than ten and them move on to the doubles facts using larger numbers. Pretty soon children may start trying to add any and every number to itself just for fun.
Once children are completely comfortable with the doubles facts with sums of twenty and less, teach them the concept of doubles plus one. This simply means that one addend is one more than the other addend. The sum of a doubles plus one addition problem is also one more than the corresponding doubles sum.
For example: 4 + 4 = 8 is a doubles fact while 4 + 5 = 9 is a doubles plus one fact. Doubles plus one is a slightly more difficult concept for young children to grasp. Give them lots of practice with these types of addition problems.
Draw a Picture to Solve an Addition Word Problem
Word problems have long been known to stump mathematics students of all ages. Teaching children to use specific strategies when solving word problems is essential. If a child is presented with a word problem such as: "Billy picked 7 apples in the morning. He picked 5 more apples later that day. How many apples had Billy picked by the end of the day?", show them how to draw a picture to illustrate the important information mentioned. Have them draw seven apples first and then draw five more. Have them write the corresponding number sentence, 7 + 5 = ? and then count the apples to find the sum of 12.
Liu Song also states that, “When children are encouraged to apply, explain and discuss arithmetic strategies, their understanding of number and arithmetic is enhanced so that they solve mathematical problems more flexibly and better than peers, and meanwhile, they acquire proficient arithmetic abilities.”
Teach the three addition strategies mentioned in this article, count on, doubles / doubles plus one, and draw a picture (along with other strategies such as make a ten, plus 0 and plus 1) to young mathematics students. Discuss the importance of utilizing strategies when attempting to solve problems and encourage them to reason and offer explanations of their own as to why each addition strategy is important. Find out which addition strategies they like best!
Sources:
Song, Liu. "Development of Children’s Early Addition Strategies and Its Implications for Education". Education School of Beijing Normal University, Beijing; Special Education School of Beijing Union University, Beijing. 2007. © Child Research Net.
 |
