Teaching Addition

Along with reading skills, you should start early with math schools too! Patterns in building blocks, learning of the shapes, counting, and beginner math can be established before they even start preschool.

In the freebies, you will see I already have a basic and advanced shapes puzzle to help you work on learning their shapes. Counting and patterns can easily be taught alongside or before shape learning.

We are going to break down teaching addition in the way that schools typically teach. I will include games and activity ideas you can use for practice.

1. Everyday Addition

Kids first learn by using everyday things they can see. Whether it is a snack, toy, fingers, or toy counters. This uses visual and tactile learning and gives it a real purpose.

- You can help children add numbers of toys or food

- You can make your child their very own abacus (using pipe cleaners and beads or clothespins and hangers)

- When they are ready, have them add prices in stores, scores in games, etc.

2. Use different words for addition

If you think about it, we use a lot of words to mean add. Plus, with, added to, more than, and, etc. The more the words are used, the better so there is no misunderstanding. Just like I've discussed before on talking big to your kids and using variety, it applies here too

- What is 4 and 4?

- I have 6 apples and you have 2 more than me, how many do you have?

- You had 3 leaves in your collection and you now have 3 extra. How many is that?

3. Counting to add, and counting past

When they first start, children will put the amounts together and count the total. Once that is learned, counting on or past the first number by using counters or fingers is the next skill. For example, when a child first starts and you have 2 + 3, the child will count all 5 together. The next skill would be to start at 2 then count up the final 3 to get 5.

- Help them imagine the first or larger number is "already in their head" so they don't need to count them.

- 8 + 2, the 8 is already in my head so...9, 10....the answer is 10.

4. What number comes first

Kids need to understand the numbers can be added in any order, because it's the same thing either way. 1 + 3 is the same as 3 + 1. However, as mentioned in #3, teaching the bigger number to start is easier, especially with counting past. For example (I know it's excessive), 100 + 1 is much easier than 1 + 100. Even with 1 + 10, it is much easier and less likely to get lost or need as many counters to help add the problem.

5. Number lines

You probably hated these in school, or maybe you loved them because it maybe put you at ease. Like an abacus or using counters, it can help them visualize and check their answers over and over to get the same result. Establishing this skill will also be useful in subtraction and the later teaching of negative numbers.

- Number line problems and worksheets are easily printed from just about anywhere, just google it.

- You can draw your own with your child, don't forget 0!

- Start with smaller number lines to begin with larger gaps.

- For beginning, allow counters to be used also to "check and prove" it works

- 7 + 3 . Show 7 then have the three blank ticks to 10. Label 7 and 10. Showing how the hops or jumps count as one each will help build the understanding if they are distracted by a filled number line when they start.

6. Number Pairs or Bonds

Like sight words, math has pairs that you don't even have to think about. 2 + 3 is 5 and has been an easy problem you don't have to think about. This works with practice and repetition. Children will first start with number pairs that add up to 10 or less. Then they will move on to 20 or less. The more they know, the easier they will find addition and the more confidence they will have.

- Use playing cards, Dominoes, dice, an uno deck, and print worksheets

- Quiz them aloud so they know without looking

- Make up a silly song or rhyme to remember tricky ones

- Play board games with 2 dice

7. Bridging and Compensation

When adding numbers above ten, bridging can be helpful. This uses numbers ending in 0 to make a stepping stone in a calculation. You probably do this a lot without noticing. You add on enough of one side to take up that number and make it complete and then add what is left over. Many use this principle with the number 9. 9 + 6, for example. You would take one from 6 to add to the nine. So now you have 10 + 5. You can use this with manipulatives to aid in the understanding. Going bigger, 47 + 8: take 3 from 8 to make 47 turn in to 50. You have 5 left over. So 50 + 5 = 55.

- This concept helps children struggling with adding larger numbers. Find a number that ends in 0 that could be a bridge and use that.

Compensation is similar where you temporarily add on to your first to make it complete so it's easier to add up. For example 99 cents adding to $1.25 you would temporarily round it to $1 then add the $1.25 to get $2.25. You would then remove your temporary to get the final answer of $2.24.

- Shopping or decimal work is where this would come in handy

8. Partitioning

This splits the numbers into smaller bits to make calculations easier. Usually we split numbers into hundreds, tens, and ones. They can then add each section on its own and then put it together. Adding hundreds, then the tens, and ones and combining them together at the end.

- Putting them into columns and then adding is a great visual along with the blocks you have seen in school

- Reduced partitioning is also used in this method to complete the largest to smallest.

9 & 10. Column addition with carrying & Decimal numbers

This really doesn't need explaining, we are familiar enough to know the steps for this one, but it is needs mentioning in the process.

11. Negative numbers

The last step is negative numbers. Your earlier teaching of number lines are extremely useful in this step, and obviously you have taught subtraction before this so changing the sign to add and such will aid in teaching this concept.

- Use real things like thermometers, money, etc. to help reinforce the concepts.

- Don't forget the number lines!

I know that's a lot, and I understand. However, depending on where your child is at, or where they will be, I included all steps so you can use an older child for the further steps, or you will hold on to this for further advancement on their math skills.

Was math your favorite subject? Many hate it because they struggled. Let's make our kids excited about math and excel!