Math is a difficult subject for a lot of people, not just students, so providing math homework help may not sound ideal to you. But there are tips and tricks you can use to help your child become confident at math. Sometimes, it’s a math review for the parent as well.
The first step is not making math scary. It makes complete sense, but so many people announce that they can’t do math or that they hate math without even realizing that little ones are picking up on this attitude. Try to approach all math in a confident and comfortable manner.
Another key to making math easier for your child to comprehend is bringing it into everyday life. Math seems abstract to children and many wonder why they have to learn these skills because they believe they’ll never use them in “real life.” Start explaining to them how math is involved in your every day life and how helpful some of the basics actually can be.
How to Approach a Word Problem
Word problems or story problems are challenging for a lot of people because they involve math and English. Not only can this confuse some children, but it can overwhelm them. The first step in giving math homework help on word problems is examining your own approach to learning. How do you break down a word problem, digest it, and then solve it? If you understand your own approach to word problems you’ll be more comfortable explaining it to your child.
Another way to help your child with word problems is to incorporate them into regular learning at home. Address word problems in everyday life so they seem less foreign. If you’re having your child help you around the house, ask them to take out four nails, then give you one. How many nails do you have left? This sort of approach to everyday life makes word problems and math easier to grasp.
Fractions: Quick Reminders to Add, Subtract, Multiply, and Divide
Are you looking for help with fractions or a better way to help your child learn fractions? We can point you to math learning tips and homework tips which will approach fractions in an easily digestible manner so they’re not only easy for your child to comprehend, but they’re easy for you to teach.
Adding Fractions – When teaching your child about adding fractions, remember that you can only add fractions that have the same denominators. If they don’t already have the same denominators you need to multiply both top and bottom numbers to come up with a common number. Then you can begin adding fractions.
Subtracting Fractions – When subtracting fractions the same basic rules apply as they do in adding fractions. Remember to make sure you have a common denominator and then subtract the numerators.
Multiplying Fractions – Multiplying fractions is very different from adding fractions and subtracting fractions. When multiplying fractions you don’t need to have a common denominator, you simply multiply across the numerators and denominators, then reduce the fraction, if possible.
Dividing Fractions – Dividing fractions is a little bit tricky but once you’ve mastered the technique it shouldn’t be daunting at all. Dividing by a number is the same as multiplying by its reciprocal. In effect, dividing by 4 is the same as multiplying by 1/4. So in these problems you simply invert one of the fractions and then treat as a multiplication problem.
Double Digit Addition and Subtraction
There are basically three ways to approach adding and subtracting double digits. Your child’s teacher may prefer one method over the others, but it’s important that they learn all three methods and have a good understanding of how to perform each task. This is where parents really turn into homework helpers and take that in-school learning one step further.
Classic Method – The classic method is probably the one you’re most familiar with and use most frequently. This method requires lining up your digits and then adding or subtracting down. In very simple problems no carrying is involved, when the problems get more complex there is carrying and borrowing from the column to the left.
Base 10 – Less common, but still popular, the base 10 method uses the numbers 1-9 plus 0 and teaches the basics of the teens, twenties, thirties and so on.
Lattice Method – The lattice method is an ancient method of multiplication in which a grid with diagonal (or lattice) lines are drawn, numbers are entered across the top and sides and the grid is completed using multiplication. Once completed you get the answer to multiplying the initial top and side numbers.