Teaching my son math has been a long process. He finally gets the concepts of adding and subtracting, but only in a very concrete way. Taking it to the abstract is too hard for him, so he doesn’t do computations with numbers greater than 100 as his siblings did when they were learning math.
He also tends to lose what he’s learned if he doesn’t review his math facts regularly. So I occasionally pick up new books to use with him. A new book holds his interest even when the concepts it teaches are not new to him.
Recently I picked up a new book for him called “Subtraction Secrets.” It was recommended to me by a clerk in a teacher supply store. This book contains 30 map puzzles that require my son to do subtraction problems, then use the answers to determine how to find a specific point on each map.
He likes these problems because they’re entertaining. I like the fact that he reviews subtraction, he learns very basic map skills, and he enjoys doing the puzzles. This book is reproducible, so I can keep copying the puzzles for him as long as he needs them.
There’s another book in the series called “Addition Adventures.” I didn’t buy it because the addition problems in it require the student to figure out one of the addends instead of the sum. For instance:
Instead of 7 + 5 = ___
It says 7 + ___ = 12
My son’s not there yet; it’s a little too abstract for him. But we’ll work up to it.
Here are sample pages for both “Subtraction Secrets” and “Addition Adventures.” The publisher recommends these books for ages 6-10, but I think the typical 8-10 year old would find them too easy. Six-to-seven year-olds will probably enjoy them as much as my son does.
Thanks, Barb. Always looking for new ways to review math with the boys. We have a teacher supply store locally. Only been in it a couple times. Maybe it’s worth a more thorough search.
I homeschool my four grandchildren. The oldest,a boy, has remained a very concrete thinker. He’s in high school. He’s gone over algebra 3 times and didn’t retain much of it. I was about to give up and go to some sort of business math, since he’s self-employed, when I came upon the Make It Real Learning series. He’s doing great and they are all word problems, but they are related to real life–like comparing cell phone plans. Go figure! I’m not sure he will be able to translate this back to simply formulas, like on an entrance test though.
Those are great! My daughter is not into subtraction yet but I will keep them in mind for the future. What a fun way to keep them practiced!
Carol, this was something the store clerk pointed out to me after I couldn’t find what I was looking for. Glad she was on the ball!
Karen, everyone learns differently. How wonderful that you found a program that works for him. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, Lori!
Hi Barbara, thanks for pointing me to your article. Looks like a good book and a better way to practice math. I have yet to meet a child who enjoys flash cards or worksheets, so games and puzzles are definitely the way to go.
Also wrapping problems into stories works really well.
Thanks for stopping by, Thomas!
Those do look like fun. Thanks for sharing.
I never really liked math, so it’s a bit ironic that i recently published a series of math stories. They use personification to help with concepts. ¨With six jewels Linus climbs a tree, when he is finished he only has three..¨ There are free activities on the web site to help practice the math function. Hereś the link, .http://www.arithmeticvillage.com/books/linus-minus/linus-activities/ (there is also a video with a teacher walking children through a subtraction story.) Hope it helps…
You’re welcome, Jennifer 🙂
Your books look interesting, Kimberly!