Introducing Your Preschooler to Addition
Many parents feel rather confident in teaching their child early
mathematics skills such as the basics of number recognition, one to one
correspondence in counting, sorting activities, and knowledge of shapes.
But…what about addition and subtraction? I once taught with a teacher who
frequently complained about the difficulties of addition and subtraction for
her third graders, stating that those concepts were introduced far to early in
their schooling. While I do not doubt that third graders struggle with
addition and subtraction (some of my stidents certainly did), I also do believe
that exposure to such skills begins at a very young age, even as young an
preschool, before children may even have mastered one to one correspondence,
and this exposure can influence enthusiasm and ease of learning as children get
older.
Here
is a simple and very easy to prepare activity that introduces addition and
subtraction to preschoolers. Supplies needed are some sort of counting
manipulative and a deck of numbered cards. (I used Uno cards).
Begin
by having your child draw on card from the deck and identify the number. Using
the manipulative set forth, invite your child to count to the number on the
card. Then, for extra practice, I have William count the manipulative
pieces one more time.
I
then asked William to draw a second card. He identified the name of the
number: 2. We placed it on the opposite side of the mat and then I asked
William to take two pieces away from the five.
Our
conversation then went something like this:
Me: You took two
counters away from the five you had. How many are left now?
William: (Counting the
remaining), Five.
Here
it is again, step by step, with more pictures.
Try the same kind of activity with addition.
1.
Draw a card and count the manipulative.
2. Draw a second card and place it on the opposite side of
the mat.
3. Count the number of the first card, then keep counting
until the number on the second card has been reached.
4. Remove the first card so only the second card (with the
total) is showing.
5.
Count the manipulatives one more time. It could sound like this:
We started with one
piece, but we wanted to have three pieces, so we had to add two. One plus
two gives us three.
I
removed a lot of mathematical jargon while talking to William during this
activity. My purpose was to expose William to addition and subtraction
concepts and I didn’t want to confuse him by using words like plus,
minus, and equals. Once we’ve practiced a bit more and solidified these
beginning addition and subtraction concepts, I’ll start using more mathematical
language.
Try
this activity with your preschooler. Even is he has not mastered number
identification or one to one correspondence, your help and modeling in this
activity is excellent exposure to addition and subtraction concepts. I
was pleasantly surprised at how long this activity kept William’s attention,
which not only leads me to believe that he is ready to learn such skills (with
my guidance), but that preschoolers are capable of learning rather difficult
concepts if broken down into manageable concepts to practice.
Addition for 5-6 year
olds
If your child is aged 5-6 years then they are
learning how to combine two groups together to model addition. Formal number
sentences with the addition sign is not introduced until the second year of
schooling. At this age children are encouraged to draw pictures to represent
maths problems.
·
At home sing with your
child and use counting rhymes. The melody makes it easier for children to
retain. This also reinforces the characteristics of numbers before students are
asked to add them.
·
Look for numbers in your
local area or while travelling in the car, for example count how many blue
cars, how many motorbikes and then ask them to find the total.
·
Encourage children to
use their knowledge of addition when serving food onto plates or collecting
items in the grocery store, for example can you get us 5 red apples? Can you
add 3 more bananas to the bag? How many bananas do we have now?
Addition
Addition is bringing two or more numbers (or things)
together to make a new total.
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Here
1 ball is added
to 1 ball to make 2 balls: |
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Using
Numbers it is:
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1 + 1 = 2
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And
in words it is:
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"One
plus one equals two"
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Example: If you add 2 and 3 you get 5. You would write it
like this:
2
+ 3 = 5= 7
Swapping Places
Swapping the position of the numbers
you are adding still gets the same result!
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3
+ 2 = 5
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...
also ...
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2
+ 3 = 5
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More Examples:
5
+ 1 = 1 + 5 = 6
7
+ 11 = 11 + 7 = 18
4
+ 100 = 100 + 4 = 104
Addition Table
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You can also "look up"
answers for simple addition using the Addition Table (but it is really
best to learn to remember the answers).
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Example: Find 3 + 5
·
find the
row starting with "3"
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move
along to be under the column "5"
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and
there is the number "8", so 3 + 5 = 8
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Larger Numbers: Addition in Columns
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To add larger numbers, you can use Column Addition :
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Names
Other names for Addition are Sum,
Plus, Increase, Total
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And
the numbers to be added together are called the "Addends":
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Steps in addition
1. Use real, tangible
items to demonstrate addition and subtraction. Examples of everyday things
include checkers, Lego blocks, clothes and toys. Turn it into a game. For
instance, start with 10 building blocks. Get the child to close his eyes and
take three away. The child has to work out how many you have taken and how many
are left. Reverse and do the same for addition.
2. Introduce the concept of addition
and subtraction during everyday events such as shopping and eating. For
instance, you could include the child when dividing up cherries. The child can
count 20 cherries at the beginning and then subtract five for mom's bowl to
leave 15 and so on.
3. Expose the preschooler to games
and rhymes relevant to addition and subtraction. For example, the rhyme
"There were 10 in the bed and the little one said, 'Roll over, roll over.'
So they all rolled over and one fell out. There were nine in the bed and the little
one said..." and so on. Another similar rhyme is "10 green
bottles," which is popular in the UK. It begins, "10 green bottles
standing on the wall, 10 green bottles standing on the wall. If one green
bottle should accidentally fall, there'll be nine green bottles standing on the
wall..." and so on.
4. Role-play situations such as shopping to
practice simple subtraction. The child is the shopkeeper and you are the
shopper, buying three apples that cost $1 each. If you give the child 20 $1
bills, he then has to work out the sum and give you the correct change.
5. Experiment with interactive
online math games to practice simple addition and subtraction. For example, fun
games include watching numbers fall from the sky. The child must identify two
numbers that add up to 10 in order to destroy the numbers before they hit the
ground and explode.
Reference:
