Angles
3D Shapes
Factors
Counting
Telling Time 1
Metric Length
Vocabulary
Congruent
Interpreting Data
Ready for School
Volume!
Learning to Add
Mental Math
Difficult Shapes
Measurement
Telling Time 2
Area & Perimeter
Angles
3D Shapes
Counting
Telling Time 1
Metric Length
Vocabulary
Congruent
APRIL 21, 2008: LESSON: MENTAL MATH COMPUTATIONS FOR EVERYONE!
Have you ever wondered how some people seem to be able to compute almost any math problems in their head?
There are some easy "mental math tricks" that can help! Here are a few:
1) Many people know the X11 trick, simply doubling the digit. Forexample, 8 X 11 = 88. But, many people can't do X 11 in their head if the other number is 2 digits. We can help! Take the number 23 as an example. Split apart the 2 and the 3. Add them up and put the total in the middle "5". The answer is now 253!
2) Another easy was to manipulate numbers mentally is a divide by 5 trick. Take any number you wish to divide by five. Let's try 23 divided by 5. It's simple!
Double the 23 and we get 46. Then, stick a decimal in the middle of the digits, 4.6! Let's try another...what is 43 divided by 5? Well, start by doubling the 43, and we get 86. Then, stick a decimal point in the middle. We are left with 8.6!
What are some activities to do at home to help with their mental math skills? The best thing to do is to count! Count up, count down! Count not just to twent when they are learning, but count much, much higher! The language patterns of the counting numbers must be repetitively modeled for children to remember!
Once you child has mastered basic counting, begin skip counting! 2, 4, 6, 8, 10... After that, move to counting by 5s and 10s. If they have mastered those, go back to some more complex patterns, like counting by 3s! A great way to begin teaching counting by 3s is for the child to say 2 numbers very, very quietly and then 1 number loudly. For example, whisper 1...whisper 2...then have them loudly say 3! Then, whisper 4, whisper 5, and then loudly say 6! Soon enough, they will be counting by 3s!
|
| 
