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| Learning Strategies - Mathematics |
Fact Knowledge
To support skills
to execute problem solving, children need to have basic mathematic
fact and computation knowledge. Besides the below suggestions,
check our Games and Activities under Educational Resources
for additional ideas.
Activities to support fact knowledge:
| Computation |
- Play games to support computation
fluency. Card games such as War, Addition
War, and 21 provide practice with these facts.
The book Card
Games for Kids is a valuable
resource for games of math skills.
- Domino games can be used
to practice addition and subtraction as well
as used for sorting, forming number sets, and
patterning.
- Other games to support basic mathematic
computation include:
Quizmo The Quizmo game series has versions to practice
math skills in areas such as number recognition,
money, telling time, and fractions, as well
as basic addition, subtraction, multiplication,
and division.
Equate provides practice with math computation and forming
number sentences.
- Use computer games to practice math
facts and skills. Suggestions for computer
games that focus on math include Mia’s
Math Adventure, Learn
to Play Chess with Fritz and Chester, Genius, Crazy
Machines and Wacky Contraptions, and Math
Mahjongg.
- Teach older children strategies to
assist with fact recall. For
example, children can remember easily a number
added to 10. Children can add to ten,
but remember to +1 to find the sum of a number
added to 11 or -1 to remember the sum of a number
added to 9. Once children learn to use this
strategy, they can apply it to other sums.
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| Numbers |
 Have
children sort coins according to their amounts.
This will help them recognize coins and provide
exposure to their value.- Play money exchange games to help students
work with place value, equivalent amounts, and
carrying and borrowing.
- To practice with number recognition and basic counting skills for
young children, play games like Chutes
and Ladders, Hi
Ho Cherry-O, Memory, Go
Fish,
and Crazy-8s.
- Drilling with flash cards can help with math fact knowledge. To
support children’s generation of the equation,
present a card with a signal digit written on
it such as 9. Then ask the child to compute
a problem, such as "multiply by 3".
Have the child state the answer. This
will help children generate the equation they
are solving.
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| Spatial Skills |
- Have children complete origami, make paper airplanes, and participate in paper folding activities, like wrapping presents, to recognize common fractions terms, size estimation, and spatial skills. Have children participate in tasks that use math, such as cooking or woodworking.
- Play checkers or chess with children to explore patterns and spatial skills.
The games Master
Mind and Battleship also provide practice with patterning, logic,
and spatial skills.
- Encourage children to build with a variety
of materials such as legos, or build
domino rallies to practice with spatial relationships.
- Have children explore tessellations
or complete tangram or pentomino puzzles to explore visual patterns. Have children make
tessellation stencils to replicate the patterns
or color the patterns in different ways. One
source of materials is www.deltaeducation.com
- Teach children finger-string games such as Cat’s Cradle. This helps
with spatial skills, following directions, and
sequencing the steps to complete the form. The
book Cat’s
Cradle: A Book of String Figures is a valuable resource for teaching children
string games.
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| Student Aids |
- To minimize visual distractions and confusion, limit the number of problems presented on a page or worksheet. Try to keep 4-5 problems on a worksheet.
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Division Cue Card |
Keep worksheets free of unnecessary decorations or information. This will help to maintain focus to the direction of the task.
- Teach students to make cue cards to help remember the steps to complete computation.
- To support fact knowledge in the classroom, provide access to number charts, multiplication grids, and calculators, such as the See N’Solve Calculator. This calculator shows the problem as the child enters the information. It is available at www.deltaeducation.com.
- Use grid paper to help children line up problems and limit visual confusion.
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Books that provide ideas for fun activities & games to teach math:
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