by Sarah Currigan

Created on: July 15, 2009

This article will reveal a range of suggestions to support the teaching of addition, a concept that a growing number of students find hard to pick up.

For most young learners, joining sets of physical objects is their first experience of adding up. After gathering two groups of objects, this process is no more difficult than counting how many objects there are in total. eg. the simple sum 2 + 2 can be solved by holding up the relevant number of fingers on each hand. A lot of children, particularly those with learning needs, will find this approach very difficult to complete. The time taken to finish the process means that if the child does not "get" the concept quickly, they are unlikely to proceed at all. It is also difficult to transfer this method into a mental calculation: for example, try to picture two large sets of cubes, and then counting them up accurately. Even by the standards of adult mathematicians, this is nearly impossible

An alternative to the lengthy process explained above is to use written jottings. Write out the addition problem on a sheet of paper, and next to the first number, jot down the relevant number of tallies - ie. for the number 6, draw 6 tallies. Ask the child how many tallies they'll need to jot down beside the other number in the question. Tell them to draw the tallies once they have said the correct answer . Now ask how many tallies there are on the page. This method is much quicker way of bringing together two sets, and is more suited to children with a poor attention span. It also helps the child to relate why they are drawing a certain number of tallies, and what the sum means.

Counting on is a method that is connected to your child's capacity to say number names. When your child has got to a point where they can count to 7, start asking them questions like, "which number is one more than..." (For example, what number is one more than 2?) This is really the same as answering a sum such as 2+1, but helps to connect the notions of number and addition, which is very useful. This technique prepares your child to use number tracks and builds in them the confidence to tackle problems in their head. It can be practised nearly anywhere, and needs no preparation. This method can be extended, with questions like: "which number is 2 more than..." When your student can confidently respond to these problems out loud, present them the question written down, and explain that this is the same as the activity you had been looking at earlier.

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