Helpful Hints for Practicing Addition Math Facts

Review basic addition facts at home.  You can practice these on flashcards working on five at a time.  When those five are mastered move onto five more facts.  You may also want to play, ‘Lift the Bowl’: arrange items (beans, macaroni, buttons, etc.) so that some of the items are showing and some are under the bowl.  Lift the bowl so that your child can write the number sentence (ex: 5+7=_).  Cover the items back up with the bowl and have your child solve the problem.

Here is also an interactive website to practice basic addition facts:

Ø      http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/ekowalcz/math/elementary_web_sites.htm -click on the ‘Addition Machine’ and choose level 1 to play.

 

Additional ways to practice addition facts:

1.       Dice & Domino Equations- Dice Equations: Give your child two dice to roll and make an addition problem with the numbers on the dice.  Domino Equations: Put several dominoes in a brown lunch sack.  Have your child pull a domino out of the bag and make an equation from the numbers on either side of the domino.  You may choose to have your child write the equations on a piece of paper so you can check them later.

 

 

 

2.     Math War- Remove the face cards from a regular deck of playing cards.  Shuffle the cards and place them face down between two or more players.  Each player chooses two cards and adds the numbers on the cards.  The player with the highest answer takes all of the cards.  If the numbers are the same, both players choose two more cards and the player with the highest answer takes all the cards.

 

3.      Magnetic Number Facts- Supply your child with a package of magnetic numbers and a cookie sheet.  Call out a math fact and have your child replicate the math fact on the cookie sheet with the numbers. 

 

4.     Mathematical “I Spy”- While driving down the road, have your child find numbers on signs, storefronts and vehicle tags.  Make addition problems with the numbers.

 

 

 

5.     Equation Concentration- Create a Math Memory game with twenty 3”x5” cards.  Write equations on ten index cards.  On the other ten cards, write the corresponding answers to the questions.  Shuffle and place the cards face down on the playing surface.  The first player chooses two cards.  If they match, he/she keeps both cards and chooses again.  If they do not match, then he/she puts the cards back and the next player chooses.  Play continues until all of the cards are chosen.  The player with the most cards wins.

 

6.     EGG-cellent Equations- Recycle a used egg carton and two beans for this basic fact review.  Write the numbers 1-12 in the bottom of each egg compartment.  Get two beans and place them inside the egg carton.  Shake the closed carton and have your child make an addition equation from the numbers on which the beans land.

 

7.     Beach Ball Math- With a black marker, draw lines on a beach ball.  Separate each colored section into two or three more sections.  In each section, write a number 0-10.  Throw the ball to your child.  When he/she catches the ball, have them look at the number written in the section where their thumbs landed.  They then add those two numbers.

 

8.     Newspaper Math- Have your child look through a newspaper and cut out as many numbers as she can find.  Give her a piece of blank paper and have her choose two numbers.  Glue the numbers onto the blank page, insert an addition, subtraction, multiplication or division sign in the middle of them, and solve.