Teach Maths the right way..

Maths has never been an easy subject, be it for you or for teaching your little ones. I had to face a tougher challenge in teaching Maths for my son, when we moved to London from India couple of years back. While waiting for my son's school year 1 admission, I taught him addition and subtraction at home, oblivious of the fact that Maths is no longer taught in the traditional way that we learnt.

My son was bewildered with different methods taught at home and school. Just then, I came across the book 'Maths for Mums and Dads' by Rob Eastaway and Mike Askew. The book has changed my perception towards Maths all these years. The underlying principle in the modern methods is 'there is no single way in solving a Maths problem, be it a primary school addition or a high school algebra'.

Though initially the learning seem to be slower, it gradually paves the way for mental Maths and creative thinking. I believe that traditional methods cripple the creative thinking of children. The author gives a simple example of how a simple subtraction problem is solved differently by children

1. 56-38 is solved by 3 children in
a. 56                            b. 56                        c. 56
    38                                38                            38
-------                           ------                         ------
    26                                -2                              2
    20                                20                            16
-------                           ------                          -----
    18                                18                            18

It might take a while for us to even understand how they solved the problems in different ways but arrived at the right answer. Try to find out..:-)

Below are some examples of  addition, subtraction, multiplication and division taught in the modern method.
Before starting with addition, children should have a clear understanding of  partitioning  any number into units, tens and hundreds like 52 = 50 + 2 , 148 = 100 + 40 + 8. Next is to teach them the number bonds to 10s (6+4, 5+5, 8+ 2 and so on) and 100s.
Once they are thorough with the above, they can easily solve any addition using either partitioning or number line like the one below.

47 + 53 = 40 + 7 + 50 + 3 = 90 + 10 = 100

The same could be extended for higher digit numbers without having to teach them.
In fact , as adults we mostly follow partitioning and hardly use our traditional carry/borrow method while doing day to day calculations. Then why school Maths be taught in a different way?

Given a simple problem like 780-90 to a child who has been taught in the traditional way, he/she would need a paper/pencil to solve using the borrow method. Whereas the child who has been taught in the new method would immediately arrive at the answer by  doing  780 - 100 + 10 = 690.
It's mainly the thinking that matters more than the method.

In the same way, multiplication can be done by multiplying the units, tens and hundreds separately and then adding the individual results to arrive at the final result.

like 52 * 8 = 50*8 + 2*8 = 400 + 16 = 416

Similarly division can be done by chunking the whole number with the nearest divisors.

The book also has fractions, decimals and measurements taught in an interesting way.Besides these, the book has loads of games to help children learn Maths through fun.
So, parents are you ready to start your new adventure in Maths with your children?