Our addition strategies!
Some may argue that the traditional algorithm is the best and fastest addition strategy- but that is probably because it was the only one that you learned (and were drilled with!). We teach our kids many ways to solve the same question – we also encourage them to come up with their own ways of solving problems. That is what differentiating instruction in math is all about! I don’t care which strategy they end up using to answer their questions as long as they consistently get the right answer and can explain what they’ve done. The splitting strategy is actually very popular for many kids.
We spent this past week learning a different addition strategy and practicing each one. Next week we’ll do more problem solving and they can use whichever strategy they’d like.
The kids are proud that they know how to add in more ways than their parents can. They love playing with numbers in different way. They are like mini-teachers at home. They ask me if I teach them to Rob at home. So awesome.
Check out the six we learned! (yes, me too! I love learning new ways to do old things.)
Friendly Numbers
Base 10 blocks
Calculator
Number Line
Splitting
Traditional Algorithm (the "columns")
For more cool strategies for addition/subtraction/multiplication/division of more than 1-digit numbers, do a youtube search – there are some really rad multiplication strategies out there.
(yes. I love math. And I try to make as many of my kids love it as much as I do!)
NOTE: Please don’t judge me if I’ve made errors. Blame it on the preggo brain!!
