Making learning fun
It’s not uncommon for teachers to spend a lot of time focusing on teaching the addition facts and then brush over subtraction. Subtraction has been the ‘poor relation’ that receives less attention. In fact, sometimes students are not helped to see that there is any relationship at all between addition and subtraction. (NZMaths n.d.) One of the top strategies for… Read More
When it comes to teaching the multiplication facts, students will often find multiplying by 6, 7, 8 and 9 the trickiest to master. There are two main reasons why. Students don’t understand the Commutative Property of Multiplication. They don’t see 6 x 4 and 4 x 6 as being equivalent. While they can answer 4 x 6, the answer to… Read More
If you come from a generation where learning to multiply meant reciting your multiplication tables over and over, then you probably don’t have positive thoughts about teaching multiplication. Maybe you were given timed tests or had your achievements (or lack of) displayed on the wall. It may even be that, as an adult, you’re not still fluent with your multiplication… Read More
Learning the multiplication facts shouldn’t be about learning to recite the times tables. I’ve seen too many students searching their memories for the answer to 6 x 8, only to have them start at 1 x 8 = 8. There’s no knowledge of the multiplication thinking strategies that can help them reach the answer much faster. If kids need to… Read More
I love using games in my math centers. I have to admit it wasn’t always successful. In the early days of teaching, I didn’t consider things like how to set up successful centers, or even the best way to use games during center time. Now, with nearly thirty years of teaching experience behind me, those things are second nature. I’ve… Read More
Once first grade students master counting on addition, the next step is learning their doubles facts. The doubles facts are addition facts in which a number is added to itself. 1 + 1 and 2 + 2 are both doubles facts. When students know these facts, it’s easy for them to use them to solve their near doubles (doubles + 1… Read More
I'm Peta, the teacher, author, and resource designer behind Teaching Trove and I'm passionate about using games and interactive resources in the classroom.
It's my mission to help you create a classroom where kids are engaged in hands-on, meaningful practice that helps them to really consolidate the concepts you've been teaching. Read More…
