Math can be a tricky topic to teach to a class of young children, but it’s a core subject in any student’s curriculum — and one that is key to building a framework for all future education.
So, what math topics are most important to teach to kids?
And how exactly should you teach those topics in a way that’s fun, engaging, and informative all at the same time?
Today we’re going to share with you a few top tips on how to teach five of the most important math topics out there. From addition to multiplication, this article will give you the lowdown on how to make math fun and easy to understand!
To get you ready for the classroom, we’re also going to share with you some of our best math worksheets for kids to help you deliver the most engaging and most productive math lessons possible.
Ready to get started?
Let’s go!
Addition worksheets for kids
Addition is an important first step for kids learning math.
But even though it’s one of the most fundamental mathematical skills, addition can still be tricky for students to learn — after all, it requires a child to get their head around the abstract concept of adding up numbers which don’t exist in their immediate, real world.
Sure, you can write 1 + 1 = 2 on the board, but what does that mean to them? How do you help students overcome the abstract nature of addition, in order to move on to more complex mathematical exercises?
The answer is to make abstract concepts, like addition, feel more tangible, relevant and accessible for your class.
For example, why not bring in sugar-free candy and ask your students how many you’re holding in your hand? Add more as you go, and whoever keeps up can be rewarded with a little treat.
With the help of our addition sentences worksheets, you can also use fun symbols to simplify the process of adding together different amounts. Smiley faces and love hearts have got to raise a smile when numbers can’t, right?
And for slightly more advanced addition sums, try our single-digit, two-digit, and three-digit addition worksheets to really cement your students’ understanding of how different numbers can be added together to make new ones.
Subtraction worksheets for kids
Once your class has mastered addition, you’re then onto the task of teaching subtraction.
Some kids find that subtracting numbers is a little more difficult than addition, as it requires the brain to essentially work backwards.
That’s why subtraction worksheets are so important in helping your students gain confidence with a different direction of numeracy.
From subtraction sentences to single-, two-, and three-digit sums, our worksheets on subtraction are fun, engaging, and informative, and will get your class more eager than ever to practice their subtracting sums.
And to demonstrate how subtraction works in a fun way, one activity we think works well is to ask your class to get creative and make paper bowling pins. Every time the pins are knocked down, ask each student to count how many pins are left standing.
Fun activities like these will help to engage your class with the physical process of taking numbers away from each other, and make for memorable math homework tasks, too!
Division worksheets for kids
After your class has worked on addition and subtraction, it’s time to think about tackling the challenge of division — and this is where, sometimes, things can get a little trickier.
Whilst adding and subtracting is, essentially, about working up and down a numberline, division requires a little bit of creativity to show your students how numbers can be broken down into different amounts.
The best way to do this is by engaging your class with interactive activities that demonstrate how division works in a clear yet super fun way.
Bringing bags of healthy snacks into class and sharing them out will show your students how an amount can be quickly divided into something smaller. If you start with ten bags of vegetable chips and split them between two students, your class will see that ten broken down into — or divided by — five equals two.
Or, for older students, a simple baking demonstration can help division seem practical and easy to understand — if you have a recipe for 24 cookies, but only want to make 12, how many grams of flour, sugar and butter do you need? And what happens if you only want to make 8 cookies, instead?
Once your class begins to understand this process, you should then introduce your students to worksheets on division , as this will help to formalize your demonstration and put it in a context that’s more directly about numbers, which is key to teaching math effectively.
Multiplication worksheets for kids
Similarly to division, learning multiplication requires a slightly more advanced numeracy comprehension. It’s about teaching your class that certain numbers can go into each other a particular amount of times.
The best way to demonstrate this is through teaching your class their times tables.
Times tables lessons are ultimately about getting your class to repeat and internalize the multiples of different numbers and to recognize the numerical pattern of each multiplication. To do this, we recommend coming up with fun and catchy phrases that will stick in your students’ heads instantly, as they learn.
For example, rhymes like “two and four want to celebrate, they’re turning eight” and “six and five watched the birdie, the number of times she chirped was thirty” will help your students remember that two times four is eight, and six times five is thirty.
You should also always make learning multiples as collaborative as it can be. Going through the multiples of different numbers student by student, for example, will help to create a sense of teamwork and togetherness around remembering key numbers.
And to reaffirm all of this fun, it’s important to ask your class to complete multiplication worksheets to help consolidate all that they’ve learned.
Our worksheets on timetables from 1-10 are a great way of getting your students to fully grasp all their multiples!
Counting money, fractions, estimations, and real-life math worksheets for kids
When teaching your class any of the topics we’ve covered in this guide, it’s always helpful to teach them in a way that relates directly to everyday life. This will encourage your students to think beyond the classroom, which will ultimately help them simplify different techniques.
For example, studies have shown that teaching children math in the context of money helps them to gain confidence in working with numbers.
To apply this approach in your own classroom, you could use loose change to demonstrate various calculations. And when teaching division or fractions, you could also use cakes and pizza — whether real or merely representative — to show children how sharing out food is just like completing a math sum.
By being creative and relating math to the real world, you’ll boost your students’ confidence in handling numbers, which will keep them motivated to keep on learning.
And to consolidate the process of learning by doing, it’s worth getting your students to complete worksheets to always reaffirm the actual math behind the actions. Our worksheets on counting money and estimations are great examples of how practical math can be applied in the classroom.
And now to the classroom…
That’s it for our article on the best free math worksheets for kids. We hope you have found it useful, and are feeling more ready than ever to head to the classroom and start teaching.
As well as using kids’ math worksheets, the key to delivering the best math lesson is about getting creative and having some fun.
Remember, math is just as much about problem-solving as it is about numeracy. If your class tends to clam up as soon as the calculator comes out, just take a step back and focus on the mathematical mindset. Don’t be afraid of trying something new, and always be on the lookout for new ways to relate numbers to the real world — it’ll seriously help to boost your students’ numeracy today and into the future.
Good luck, and don’t forget to check out more of our kids’ worksheets for school by clicking here.
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Link will appear as Free Math Worksheets For Kids: A Breakdown By Addition, Subtraction, Division, Multiplication and Counting Money For Kids: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, March 20, 2020