How to Teach 1st Grade Basic Math Skills
Although many children groan and moan at the prospect of a math lesson, adults know that math is an important skill that most people use nearly every day. It is vital that students start with a strong base in math because all of their math knowledge will be built upon this foundation. First-grade math may seem incredibly easy and unimportant, but it is vital to ensuring that students will be successful when faced with more complex concepts in the future. The lessons that a student is taught by his first-grade math teacher will be with him for the rest of his life. If you are preparing to teach first-grade math, consider the significance of what you are teaching and work hard to set your students up for mathematical success.
Things You'll Need
- Math manipulatives
- Addition and subtraction games
- Clock
- Paper money
- Addition and subtraction story problems
Instructions
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Ensure that students understand the concepts of addition and subtraction. It is not enough for kids to be able to perform addition and subtraction; they need to fully understand what the concepts mean. You can ensure understanding by using manipulatives when practicing addition and subtraction with your students. Manipulatives provide students with something tangible to manipulate, or move around, as the math problem requires. By providing kids with manipulatives such as plastic blocks or brightly colored wooden pieces, students will be able to see the properties of addition and subtraction and begin to understand what it really means to add and subtract things.
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Demonstrate the relevancy of the material. Pose questions that contain real-life applications. Questions that are applicable to your students' daily lives will not only allow you to see that they really understand the material, but will also help the students see how they will use the skills that they are learning in math class.
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Teach students to skip count. By the end of first grade, all students should be able to count by 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s. This skill, known as skip counting, allows students to complete simple math problems much more quickly.
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Play games that will help your students have fun while practicing their skills. Many students don't enjoy math because they find it tedious but math time is a wonderful time for a game. Remember, first-graders need lots of stimulation. If you engage them with a game, you can hold their attention for a longer time and have more success imparting knowledge.
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Engage students in time telling. Time telling is an important mathematical skill that all students should be able to perform adeptly by the end of first grade. Practice time telling with students frequently. Periodically ask students to share the time with the class. Once your students' time-telling skills are more developed, you can ask students to use the clock to determine how much time is left before recess or to figure out how much time is left in the school day.
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Role-play with money. Students should also develop their money sense during first grade. Help students hone their money-counting skills by practicing with paper money or cardboard coins. You can even link your money-counting lessons to classroom rewards by giving students class bucks for task behaviors or being the teacher's helper. They can trade these dollars later for prizes and you can give them their change.
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Practice with story problems. Story problems give your students the opportunity to practice using math skills in real-life situations. Practice completing story problems with your class. Your students may struggle at first as they try to determine what mathematical operation the problem is asking them to complete, but with practice they will improve. Story-problem practice will allow you to ensure that your students have acquired the skills necessary to be successful in math.
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