Teaching Math Division In Ways That It Can Be Remembered

Life is always hectic, but I have always wanted to write a math text book.  Maybe this is how I will start it.  I got some information on this hub today and will see if I can add some more to it over the weeks to come.

I would love to be able to help more people with their math, and in the future might think of a way to do it live and online.  Return often an if you have a basic math question let me know.

Knowing how to count, the value of numbers, and basic operations with numbers is taught in the lower grades at most schools.  If it is taught there on a daily basis, then why do so many students still struggle with basic math operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division?

I teach High School Exit Math Preparation to grades 10-12, and it is amazing how many students in my class try to cover up the fact that they can not multiply or divide numbers.  Numbers are such a mystery to most people.  Over the years of working with people who struggle learning math I have come up with ways to help people learn it and retain that knowledge.

The first thing you have to do in helping your child or student is to put yourself in their place.  No one likes to fail. You are taking a child who has dreams of being whatever they want to be, until their lack of math ability crushes their hope.  This can happen in any field of study, but math is made to be this huge mystery that only a certain few are able to solve.

This is just not so.  Just as there are ways to help readers improve now, there should be more and more ways to help math students improve.  I will give what knowledge I have to share in hopes that it can help your reluctant math learner learn the basics of addition, subtraction and multiplication as it applies to division.

It all begins with counting. The parents who develop the understanding of counting with their preschool aged children will be ahead of the game. Remember the old "one for me and one" for you when you are associating an object with it? That is such a great way to learn number sense from the beginning. Ok, one is a unit of something whether it be popcorn or pennies, or M&Ms.

That sounds so basic, but believe me there are high school students out there who can not associate the numbers with units of something. They might understand money, but when you put "math class" in front of numbers the switch goes to OFF.

As soon as your children get old enough to help in the kitchen they can start understanding fractions by the use of measuring cups and teaspoons and tablespoons.  They can learn what the marks mean on a ruler and understand how a single unit can be broken into even smaller unis.  Have a clock in your house that is non-digital and teach your children how to tell time in hours and fractions of hours (minutes).  When you buy pizza you can make it into a fraction lesson before you eat any.  Fractions are all around us, and the sooner children get used to seeing and using them the stronger they will be in math later on.

I consider math as a language.  In any language you have to learn the vocabulary.  With math you are learning the characteristics of the numbers, and what to do with them when they are represented as whole numbers, fractions, decimals and percents.  Then we should not forget about the negative numbers, too.  Learning about those should not start with the first bank account.

No matter what age your child is, or what age you are, you can learn math.  As we get older it is more difficult to learn new skills, like adults who want to learn how to swim.  There is a lot of fear associated with learning how to swim.  The fear of failure can be just as great a fear to over come by students who have failed math for a number of years or who have had a humiliating moment in front of a class.

Children and students should never be told that it is okay, you just do not have a math mind, or any other negative comment about learning math or any other subject.  They should be encouraged.  Sometimes it takes the right teacher and the right environment.  Wouldn't it be nice if that could be you in your own home?  Then from there it could progress into the school years.

When you are solving math it is a good thing to know there is more than one way to solve most math problems.  You do not have to be a genius to get through high school math and even pass the High School Exit exams in California (that is the only state that I am familiar with since that is where I teach).

Most math is made too complicate for the student who never got the strong foundation.  I start by getting students familiar with the counting numbers and operations when them before moving on into the next steps.  I tell my students that math is a language of its own, and it is also like playing a video game.  There are steps you can learn to get through some rounds and onto the more advanced rounds, but until you learn those steps you might have to spend more time in the early rounds.  Most people can relate to that type of thinking now.

My most favorite number is 2.  It is a great number because it is so versatile.  I spend a lot of time teaching my students how great the number is.  First of all it is powerful because it can make any large even number easier to work with.  I make sure that everyone can sequence count by 2.  We write down the steps.  I teach my students to recognize even numbers.

Then I teach them to recognize the numbers that can be divided by 5 and 10.  Once they see that then we can focus on the other numbers.

Once children of all ages can comprehend that numbers have other numbers or factors inside of them division is an easy next step. So when Multiplication is taught there needs to be a strong emphasis on the factors (numbers multiplied together) of the new larger number.

One game I play with my high school students is Factor Hangman. I will put a number on the board and they have to identify the correct factors of it. Some numbers are Prime numbers and the only factors are 1 and the number itself. Prime numbers are not very good to use in Factor Hangman. Once the students understand the game it is their turn to play and to divide into teams. Before they get to put the number on the board they have to show all of the factors of it.

All even numbers are great to use in Factor Hangman. Do you remember why?

Yes, that is correct, all even numbers can be made easier by dividing them by the number 2. Or, we factor out a 2. So you can see how multiplication and working with number factors can lead right into division. Once people understand this getting a better understanding of fractions, decimals and percents just follows right along.

When my students are just starting out I let them us multiplication charts, but only ones that they make. I have found that once this multiplication and factoring step is mastered, the student's math ability continues to improve. Never be afraid to take a student back to basics.

Below is an example of a multiplication chart. The only thing not added to it are the answers.  You  just multiply the numbers in the column with the number in the row and put in one answer per box directly below it.  In my classes I give drills on this where the first day I give them 20 minutes to complete it and further alone in the year it is taken down to 5 minutes.  I have some students who can never finish it in the 20 minute time period, but we just keep working on it.  Do not give up on your slower math learners.  Remember they are our future and we must help them to succeed and not give up on his or her self.