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  • Add vs Subtract Concepts – Kinesthetic Approach

    Add vs Subtract Concepts – Kinesthetic Approach

    In working with students who have fallen significantly behind in math, a common challenge is adding and subtracting. This can manifest in word problems or simple add and subtract problems. When this is the case, the first thing I check is whether the student understands conceptually what addition and subtraction are. Here is a Google…

  • Using $10 and $1 Bills to Represent Regrouping in Addition or Subtraction

    Money is intuitive for many students, even when the underlying math is not. For example, I often find that students who do not understand well the concept of Base 10 place value do understand $10 and $1 bills. With this in mind, I created a virtual scaffolded handout that builds on student intuitive understanding of…

  • Common Denominator – Why?

    Common Denominator – Why?

    We explain steps in great detail to students but often omit the underlying concept. The topic of adding or subtracting fractions with unlike denominators is an example of this.       The example above right is a short cut for what is shown above left. These short cuts, which math teachers love to use,…

  • – symbol: negative vs subtraction

    – symbol: negative vs subtraction

    The use of the “-” symbol is challenging for many students. They don’t understand the difference between the use of the symbol in -3 vs 5 – 3. To address this I use a real life example of multiple uses of the same symbol (1st 2 photos below) then break down the “-” symbol (photo…

  • Subtraction Poem

      From the blog Bits and pieces. This would be a great poster to put on a learning wall while kids are learning the rules. In lieu of showing the kids repeatedly what to do simply have them follow this – training to follow examples.