What is the best tool for my 9 year old daughter to learn subtraction better/faster?

Question

She is doing pretty good in addition, but subtraction goes harder. She will go to the second grade in Fall.
Thx.

Answer 1

Hi:

How about using the following : A lot of pennies or coins and a Chinese abacus; the reason I would use pennies or coins is because everyone uses money and it's easier for anyone to clasp numbers, the abacus will visibleably show the numbers as beads as well as show the process of both addition & subtraction. and it also make a great gift that she can pass along to your grandchild when she has a child of her own, Remember that all subtraction is addition in reverse. There are a lot of children books on subtraction in most stores like Meijer,Big Kmart and Wal-mart, along with others, they can help you. I've list some books in the Source that can help you

Good luck and best wish to you

Answer 2

Make the problems tactile. Often in mathematics, when you are first learning a new subject it is best to use hands-on tools. For instance, use beans. Set out an amount of beans on a table. Give your daughter a problem in which you have to make soup, and you need 10 beans for the soup. Have her count out 10 beans. Ask her how many beans are left. Then write out the problem to make the connection. You can use any household item, and work out similar problems. For other helpful tools, with mathematics, you can visit: http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html If you click on Numbers and Operations there are virtual tools to help students with subtraction.

Answer 3

Different children have different learning styles, so you may just have to try a variety of things to see what works. Also, seeing the math worked out in a number of different ways may itself help her to learn it.

I used to visualize a number line. Nine minus three? Three numbers back from nine is six. Other kids can just memorize all the basic subtraction facts: "nine minus one is eight, nine minus two is seven..." Flash cards and object manipulation have already been mentioned.

Also, take advantage of everyday events to reinforce the concept: "We have nine eggs, and we're going to cook five for breakfast, how many will we have left?"

For more advanced math, working with their own money often helps.

Answer 4

my father always used to hit me on the hands with a ruler when i got one wrong. that seemed to work for me. just kidding... flash cards work for some kids, but some others will do better working with actual objects. try doing subtraction with groups of M&Ms or something like that. When she gets one right, she can be rewarded with keeping the correct amount. it never hurts to throw a little reward in there to spice things up.

Answer 5

Flash cards always worked for me. It trains you to get quicker at doing the math in your head.

Answer 6

flash cards. it will help her visualize so that she can work out problems in her imagination in later life and avoid obvious crutches, such as calculators.

Answer 7

her fingers to me it is always the best tool