Number lines - how to use them and why they're important
Children make a natural progression from counting to basic addition - but there's a key moment along the way. It comes when they realise they don't have to count all the way from one each time.
Take the above example - children start out by counting on fingers from one to three, then they count four more to get seven. There's nothing wrong with this method - it's a natural stage - but there's a bit of needless counting going on.
Soon they'll realise this and start at three and the count on to seven. Number lines are a great way to accelerate this development.
Number lines provide a mental strategy for addition and subtraction. It's easy to think of them as a kind of crutch for the struggling, but not so. Research has shown they're important because they promote good mental arithmetic strategies.
Learners soon graduate from using simple number lines to visualising one in their mind - this is when the humble number line has done its job!
We encourage using number lines in 天涯海角社区:
This video shows how number lines help older learners with addition and subtractions beyond ten.
I'm Ged, Co-founder of 天涯海角社区, ex-maths teacher and dad. If you have any questions please get in touch.
About 天涯海角社区 - 天涯海角社区 is a fun and effective way to to boost primary maths skills. Designed for 4 to 11 year olds to use in the home, 天涯海角社区 uses a little and often approach to learning maths (20 minutes, three to five times per week) that fits into the busy routine. 天涯海角社区 helps users develop fluency and confidence in maths - without keeping them at the screen for long.
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