Children naturally engage with math long before formal schooling, often beginning with simple concepts like counting toys or objects during play and showing their age on their fingers. This early exposure gradually transitions into more structured learning as they enter school, where they start mastering number manipulation for problem-solving. Parents often struggle to assist their children with homework because of the changes in math instruction over time that use strategies that are unfamiliar. Mullins Tutoring, Inc. has adapted tutoring methods to align with evolving math curriculum. The chart above shows eight common addition strategies.
- Using their fingers when beginning to learn math is a common approach among children. This method provides a tangible way for them to grasp that math represents a relationship between numbers and objects, aiding in their initial understanding and development of mathematical skills.
- Breaking numbers apart to make tens simplifies addition, like turning 7 into 5+2 and then (5+5)+2, aiding in accuracy for numbers exceeding ten.
- “Counting On” involves starting with the larger number in an addition problem and counting by the number added to it, as illustrated in 9+3. The caveat for this method is that they say the number they are starting with and then count the number they are adding.
- Number lines are visual aids frequently used in math, particularly for counting and addition, evolving as children tackle larger numerical values. Children will start with adding ones to a larger number before moving on to tens and hundreds.
- Ten-frames are a standard tool for visualizing numbers up to ten, aiding in developing number sense within that range. Schools will often use counters as manipulatives to represent the numbers being added. Once again, this helps children conceptualize numbers up to ten. (Source and for more information: https://nrich.maths.org/2479)
- Teaching addition in early grades often involves using pictures with colors or shapes to represent numbers visually, aiding children in understanding numerical concepts.
- Base ten blocks are manipulatives used to represent multiples of ten. In early grades, children initially focus on understanding and manipulating ones and tens using these blocks, as shown above.
- The last method shown is the part-part-whole method, where children learn that numbers can be broken into parts and added together. This drawing is often used with word problems, where the whole and part are shown, or the two parts are given, and the whole is to be determined. This method will be used in all four operations as the children progress in school.
Basic addition strategies learned in early math serve as building blocks for more advanced mathematical operations such as subtraction, multiplication, and division as students progress in their mathematical skills.