5 Ways to Help Elementary Students with Math

Because of learning differences, children absorb knowledge at different speeds and grasp concepts in their own time frames. Some children learn math with very little teaching and others need remedial help with it.

Below are five methods educators, parents, and others can use to help elementary students with math.

Manipulatives

Being able to hold something in their hands helps many elementary students who are learning math. Remedial math teachers often use this technique in order to help children learn their math skills. Math skills, such as addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication are learned with good understanding through the use of manipulatives like blocks, marbles, abacus, discs, cards, cups or even beads.

Drawing

Sometimes an effective way to learn math skills is through the use of math pictures that are drawn out by the child. One good exercise is asking the student to draw five circles on a sheet of paper. Then ask the student to cross out two or the circles or add two more. This visual exercise helps the students learn subtraction and addition.

Shopping

The grocery store is an excellent place to help elementary school children learn math skills. There is a plethora of learning in a supermarket from weighing produce, counting money, selecting products according to their weight and size, determining how much each item costs per ounce, and more. Educators or parents can simulate a store setting in school or in the home for children to enjoy while learning.

Structured

Some children learn best by having a very structured pattern to follow for each problem. A remedial math teacher can show the child steps for solving each problem one at a time. Many children enjoy this structured pattern of learning, as it is broken down into easy pieces.

Math games

It is no secret that children love to play games. Today, there are many math games for the computer and even more games online. Math skills, such as time telling, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and more engage the student’s interest so that they are more likely to retain the knowledge that they have learned.