PARENT TO PARENT

Basic Arithmetic Facts (cont'd)

In the past few articles, I have been showing you how to teach basic arithmetic in a way that is logical, efficient, and leads naturally to the upper levels of math. The first step was to teach the addition doubles so your student knows them inside out, upside down and backwards. I then talked about counting up one, two or three, and counting by two's twice, for adding four. I then went back to review the doubles, and used them to calculate the addition facts that include doubles plus one (2+3, 3+4, etc.) as well as the doubles plus two (2+4, 3+5, etc.). I would like to show you one more pattern that I teach, using ten. Although these patterns include most of the basic arithmetic facts, there are a few left out. I generally don't worry about these. Once a student masters the concepts I've shown, they are comfortable enough with addition to play in the numbers and will often find their own patterns, sometimes to replace the patterns I've taught, and sometimes to create patterns for other equations. It's the nature of the human brain.

I teach children to add 10 to a single digit number by writing down the number and putting a one in front of it. To add 10 + 2 write down the two and put a one in front of it, and you get 12. To add 10 + 3 write down the three and put a one in front of it, and you get 13. Practice this with the addition facts that include 10 + 1, all the way through 10 + 9.

Once your student is comfortable with this, move on to adding nine. I teach my students that, since nine is one less than ten, they can use the same technique as they did with adding ten. You write down one less than the number being added and put a one in front of it. As an example, let's look at 9 + 4. Write down three, since it is one less than 4 and put a one in front of it and you get 13. To add 9 + 7, you write down six, which is one less than seven, and put a one in front of it - 16. Practice adding 9 to a number, from 9 + 1 through 9 + 9.

You will notice as you run through these patterns that many equations will incorporate more than one pattern. Students often worry about which pattern to use. This is a very important question and has a specific answer - use the pattern you are most comfortable with. For instance, why would a student use the pattern for adding nine with the equation 9 + 1, when s/he can just count up one? In the same way, 9 + 9 is a double, so why worry about another pattern? Some children are curious about the patterns and like to take the time to explore the different options available for calculating answers. By all means, slow down and take the time to explore - this is math at its best!

Finally, one of the biggest problems I face at the tutor center is with students uncomfortable with the idea of using patterns. Some students are nervous about using the patterns because the work seems too easy; it's like cheating. I love when this happens, and remind my students that math is supposed to be easy, and if you like patterns, it can be a lot of fun as well.

I hope this helps,
Michele

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