This is the second in a series of articles explaining How to make maths easy for your kids – this one is on doubling.
Parents often like to work with their kids between weekly sessions of private tuition and/or school to supplement the work of their private tutor and/or class teacher. At Tutor My Kids, all our private tutors are teachers, so we’re often asked by our parents how to make maths easy for their children.
Helping your kids to learn their number bonds is a key skill that lays the backbone of future maths learning.
E.g. 4+6=10, 7+3=10, 14+6=20.
The common ones are those numbers which add up to 10 and 20. Knowing other combinations such as those that add up to 12, 13, 14, etc. can make maths much quicker for kids, rather than them having to work it out each time.
Here’s the link if you missed it – How-to-make-maths-easy-for-your-kids-1-the-power-of-number-bonds/
This article looks at the next step – doubling,
Doubling
Doubling is simply adding one number to another (3+3=6, 25+25=50).
It’s also the same as multiplying by 2 (3 x 2=6, 25 x 2=50)
Learning these by memory is the ideal scenario, because it helps your child to have that quick recall which makes their maths quicker. (In the previous article we likened this to having to look up your bank PIN each time you used it rather than having it in memory – much less frustrating and much quicker).
Simple games at home can help mental recall. “If you have 6 sweets and your best friend has the same number, how many do you have altogether?”
Top Marks have a great online Doubling game which is customisable to the level your child is at.
Learning these are great, but there are always going to be numbers that your kids will need to work out so they need a suitable methodology.
Using partitioning to double
Partitioning is splitting a number into its component parts – in the example below, tens and units, though it can be done with hundreds, thousands, tenths, hundreths etc. This is a very usual way taught in Primary schools by teachers in the UK and by our private tutors in Cambridgeshire, who being teachers, follow the same methodologies as our students’ class teachers.
Firstly take the number, partition (separate) it onto its component parts, then double (multiply by 2) each number and recombine together.
Maths Confidence and Numerateness
Helping students to be confident at maths is something that our private tutors in Cambridge and surrounding areas do all the time. This confidence starts with having having number facts at quick recall; it speeds up the work and enables students to feel that they’re able to work more quickly and allows children to access more complex material. Teaching children numerateness (Yes, I know this is a made up word – but it fits the bill) means that they have an understanding of number which sets them up for life and further learning.
Tutoring maths is a highly specialised thing, because each child will have gaps in their learning that are unique to the child. One-to-one tuition enables these gaps to be filled thoroughly, effectively and efficiently.
Then finally, you’re making it easy for your children to excel at maths, to be confident and numerate.
Get help from a private tutor in Cambridgeshire.
If you would like further information on private tuition in Cambridge, Ely and the surrounding areas, there’s more information on the Tutor My Kids website here or you can call Rachel Law for a chat on 01223 858421.