Addition - How Do You Do It?

[Guest]

I'm looking to improve our scores in calculation this year. I've always tried to use mathematical language (e.g. 3 AND 1 more MAKES 4) but having looked at the 'Mathematical Activities for the Foundation Stage' stuff they seem to introduce the + and = symbols quite early.

 

The problem I have is that they just say 'Write 3 + 1 = 4' on the board without actually seeming to explain what the symbols are. Isn't that confusing?

 

How do you do it? I'm really tieing myself up in knots with this one!

 

Any fool (or Moose) proof techniques you have for teaching addition, and subtraction for that matter, would be gratefully received.

Edited February 3, 2007 by Guest

[Susan]

I do much the same as you, Moose.

I have always told the children the symbols are quick ways to write the words in number work!

 

Mundia might have some ideas when she comes this way.

[Guest]

I tend to introduce the symbols quite early on too (before Christmas). I start by making the symbols wth my arms as I say the "number story". The children seem to pick it up very quickly this way and enjoy the kinaesthetic approach. We then progress to writing the sum on the board. I also introduce alternative vocab - plus, and, add, total, altogether, more (obviously not all at once!)

[Guest]

I like your idea of making the symbols wiht your arms- I must try that one

[hali]

sounds like a good idea

[Guest]

I have a big numberline on the wall by my chair that we refer to when I take the register and talk about finding the number of children in the class and then point at it. I ask where my finger needs to go if children are away. The class is largely now confident about it jumping back to take away absentees and jumping forwards if they turn up. This year I introduced the idea of us being a very strange class with more fingers than the other children in the school. I showed them how we could make 26 fingers the number in the class by showing ten, closing fists, then another ten, then six. They are now confidently making and showing each other the number of fingers for what ever number of children we have in. Another thing we have near my chair is a 'hands up' display. We did handprinting with paint earlier in the year and I had the hands attached to a number line. when I changed this I decided to use them for another display. It's a long thin board which says 'How many hands up today?' I put the hands up in three groups - they printed in red, green and blue. When they notice the display has changed I give the child who noticed first a post it note pad to write the number of hands for a group or the total, they then choose someone else to continue until three groups and the total have been written. Now my HA and some MA children are adding the totals in their heads, others are counting more carefully to add them up. Perhaps the next step here would be to add a sum line at the bottom. Last year in the Spring I did a chart which said How many children away today. Children drew a sad smilie next to the words girls and boys for each child absent. Then someone wrote a numeral to correspond to the pictures and we finished by writing it up as a sum. What I find strange is that all these activities are madly attractive when done on the carpet and children who do all they can to avoid coming to do a focus task are tremendously keen to have their turn writing on the display/making labels for the display

 

AOB

[Guest]

We also start by writing number sentences with the addition words/subtraction words in full e.g. 1 and 1 makes 2 then talk about how the symbols make it quicker to write the number sentence. We also do lots of grouping, partitioning and recombining work -don't use all those words yet though -should I be doing? We do lots of number rhymes and get the children involved in numbers daily in real-life contexts such as at fruit/snack time,etc

[Guest]

Thanks everyone. I can always rely on you guys to help straighten out my muddly thinking!