Mathematics is an easy subject to incorporate into our daily lives. Children should be learning to count by doing it! Young children should be counting everything they see. Objects arranged in patterns is a great way for children to count and recognize patterns. Books about counting help children tie numbers to their symbols.
Learning is reinforced when all the senses (hearing, smelling, touching, and doing) are engaged. Below are some ideas to use the senses to teach math concepts.
- Make up songs or chants about numbers or math facts.
- Walk around the house or outside and count how many different scents you smell.
- The following materials can be used to teach mathematical concepts: beans, feathers, rocks, whip cream, shaving cream, chalk, Silly String, Play-Doh, string, rope, yarn, sand, pipe cleaners, and candy.
- Incorporate movement into math facts memorization. Shout math facts while tossing beanbags from hand to hand or while tossing a beach ball to another person. Many games, such as hopscotch, can be modified to include math concepts.
- Apply math lessons to real world experiences such as when learning fractions bake a cake.
Objects used to teach math concepts are often called “math manipulatives.” They can be made at home or purchased. Below are a few resources.
Christianbook.com (Homeschool Math Manipulatives):
Oriental Trading:
Amazon:
To make manipulatives:
- 5 Simple Homemade Math Manipulatives
(Remember that small pieces can be dangerous to use near very young children.)
Helpful websites:
Math enrichment activities for grades K-8
Kindergarten
Numbers and number sense
Activities:
- Young children should be counting everything they see.
- Arrange objects in patterns to teach shapes and counting.
- Use toddler counting books to teach number words and symbols.
Counting to 100
Numbers and number symbols activities and worksheets:
- How to Introduce Numbers to Kindergartners
- Number Sense Activities: Making 10!
- Math Printables and Lesson Ideas
- Alligator Greater Than and Less Than(Printable)
Writing and recognizing numbers videos:
- Counting and Matching Song
- Learning to Write Numbers
- Comparing Numbers: Greater Than and Less Than(#17, but there are others)
Comparing numbers videos:
Ordinal numbers videos:
Temperature
Activities:
- Use an outdoor thermometer to teach temperature. Make a calendar and each day record the temperature. It is fun to add drawings of the sun, clouds, rain, or snow.
- Making a weather wheel:How to Make a Weather Wheel for Kids
- Weather wheel template:Weather Wheel Printable
Money
Kindergarteners should learn to recognize pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and one dollar bills and know the value of each. They should also understand the meaning of a dollar and cent signs. Play money may be available at Dollar Tree stores.
Activities:
- Have children count out coins when buying inexpensive items at a store or create a store in your home and practice buying things with dollar store money.
- Create a “play” kitchen and set up a “play” restaurant. Sometimes restaurants will give you outdated menus for educational purposes.
- Every child should have a bank account in their name to learn “money smarts.” When depositing money in the bank, have your child count the money, fill out the deposit slip, and hand the deposit to the teller.
Money worksheets:
Money videos:
- The Money Song: Penny, Nickel, Dime and Quarter
- Teaching Kids about Money: Fun Math Game
- Learn to Name and Count Coins
Money video with a song to learn:
Time
Activities:
- Calendar and seasons can be taught at the same time as weather. Note when the temperature starts to cool down and warm up. Discuss holidays in relation to the seasons.
- Make sure analog clocks are visible so your child can practice telling time. The clock should have hands, the numbers one through twelve, and each minute marked in between five minute increments.
- Interactive clock activity:Interactive Clock: Telling Time
- Write the room and other activities about telling time:
Write the Room with Monster Math: Telling Time - Telling time games:Online Games to Teach Time
Shapes
Kindergarteners should know at least squares, rectangles, triangles, and circles.
Activities:
- Look for shapes in objects located in your home or outside. Make a game of discovering how many squares are in a room. Circles? Triangles? Include number sense skills by placing a number flash card next to an object. For example, a table can display numerous rectangles when you include each side of the legs and the sides of the table.
- Make shape cookies. Create the shapes with items gathered around the house: boxes, cans or cookie cutters. You can also use Play-Doh.
- Make shapes from yarn, felt, or foam.
- Make or buy foam colored shapes. Have your child label them with the shape on one side and the color written on the other side. Use them like flashcards.
- Read a book about shapes. A cute book,Greedy Triangleis about a triangle who wants to be something different and has to change his shape.
- Shape videos:
–Learn Shapes with Morphle!
–Sing along Shapes Song - Resources for teaching shapes:Themeasuredmom.com
Addition and subtraction up to the number 10
Activity worksheets:
Helpful websites:
First Grade
Number and number sense
First graders should be able to count by 2s, 5s, and 10s. Teaching skip counting chants and songs are the best way to learn these. For example: 2s= 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24
Activities:
- Teaching skip counting chants and songs are the best way to learn these. For example: 2s= 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24. Practice skip counting chants while driving in the car.
- Use the clock to teach 5s and 10s.
- Skip counting videos:
–Master Counting in Twos with Animals
–The Counting by Twos Song
–The Count by Twos Song
–Counting for Kids
–Counting by Fives Collection
–Skip Counting by Fives
–Counting Coins: Nickels
–Skip Counting by 5s, 10s, and 100s
–Counting by 10 to 100
–Climbing Up This Mountain: Counting by 10s up to 100
–Counting by Tens
Addition and subtraction
Activities:
- Addition and subtraction weekly worksheets:Math Printables
- Games:Math Curriculum
Money
Activities:
- Counting money worksheets:
–Counting Coins Printables
–Buying School Supplies Printable - Counting money game:
–Numbers - Videos:
–Learning Money for Children
–Money Lesson: Adding Coins
–Counting Coins Song for Kids
–Money Song
Measurement
First graders need to learn how to measure with rulers, dry ingredients, liquid ingredients, and a scale.
Activities:
- Children love to play with water and what better time to learn to measure.
Gather measuring cups and spoons and give them puzzles to solve. For example, how many tablespoons are in cup? How many cups in a pint? - Cooking is a fun way to teach children how to measure ingredients.
- Videos:
–How to Measure Ingredients
–Math for Kids: How Do You Measure Up
–How to Use a Ruler
Shapes
First graders should add spheres, cubes, and cones to their knowledge of shapes.
Activities:
- Three dimensional shapes games and worksheets:
–3-D Shapes - Videos about spheres, cubes, cylinder, and cubes:
–3-D Shapes I Know
–Cones, Spheres, and Cylinders
–Solid Shapes
Second Grade
Second-grade skills include counting to a thousand, simple fractions, and using a decimal point between dollars and cents
Number and number sense
In addition to all the skills listed for kindergarten and first grade, second graders need to learn to count to a thousand and count by hundreds. They also learn ones, tens, and hundreds in the place value chart.
Counting
Activities:
- Videos on counting to 1000 by 100s:
–Place Value Hundreds
–Sing to Learn: Write and Count Numbers(Explains place value) - Skip Counting to 10s: (4s= 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52)
- Quiz children whenever traveling in the car or waiting in line. For example, say, “Recite your 3s to me.”
- Skip counting videos:
–Skip Count by 3
–Skip Count by 4
–Skip Count by 6
–Skip Count by 7
–Skip Count by 8
–Skip Count by 9
Multiplication
Some schools teach very simple multiplication using pictures in second grade.
Activities:
- Multiplication worksheets:
–Multiplying by 2
–Picture Multiplication: Count the Shapes! - Videos:
–What is Multiplication?
–Concept of Multiplication for Kids(British)
–Multiplication Stories: 2 Digit by 1 Digit
Addition and Subtraction
Regrouping Numbers: We used to call this carrying and borrowing.
Activities:
- Regrouping worksheets:
–Subtraction and Addition with Regrouping - Regrouping videos:
–Adding 2 Digit Numbers(British)
–Subtraction with Regrouping
Fractions
Activities:
- Begin with watching the Khan Academy video aboutnumerators and denominators.
- The best way to learn fractions is by using them. Teach fractions during cooking, eating pizza or pies, and counting money.
- Fraction worksheets:
–Parts of a Whole and Parts of a Set
–Explore Halves and Quarters
–Learning Fractions with Pictures - Fraction videos:
–Partitioning Shapes into Halves and Thirds
–Down on the Farm
–The Numerator and the Denominator - Fraction games:
–Geometry Picnic
–Basic to Proper and Improper Fractions
–Fraction Games
Money and decimal points
Thedecimal pointis a foundational concept of arithmetic. The best way to teach the use of the decimal point is by using money. Children can see that the left side of the decimal point is reserved for whole numbers and the right side of the decimal point is reserved for fractions of numbers.
Activities:
- Create a number line representing place value. Example:The Number Line for Decimals
- Gather dollars and coins and practice putting the dollars on the left and the coins on the right. Have your child write the dollars and cents. Example: Four one dollar bills, one quarter, and one dime = $ 4.35.
- Create a restaurant menu or print one from a restaurant’s website. Ask your child to pretend to be the server. Order from the menu and have your child take your order. Then ask them for the bill.
- Counting money with decimal points worksheets:
–Money: Counting
–Decimals Printables Practice: Rounding, Riddles and Pictures - Videos:
–Money and Decimals, Part I
–Money and Decimals, Part II
–Adding and Subtracting Money
–Adding and Subtracting Money using Regrouping
Helpful websites:
Third Grade
Numbers and number sense
Adding and subtracting three-digit numbers using regrouping.
Activities:
- Videos:
–Regrouping Explained
–Addition of 3 Digit Numbers with Regrouping
–Adding 4 Digit Numbers with Regrouping
–Subtraction of 3 Digit Numbers by Regrouping Hundreds to Tens
–Subtraction of 6 and 7 Digit Numbers with Regrouping
Multiplication
The ten by ten (10×10) multiplication table should be introduced by the end of third grade. However, a third-grade student will benefit from learning multiplication facts to 12. Knowing multiples of 12 will help with counting inches, feet, and yards. Students need to know multiplication times tables for higher-level math.
Activities:
- If students do not know skip counting to twelve, review the second grade skip counting section.
- If students know skip counting chants to twelve, filling out amultiplication tableshould be easy. If not, have them fill out a table every day, while chanting their skip counting to 12. For example: counting by 3s = 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36.
- Time students to help them improve their speed in writing multiplication facts.
- Create contests to improve speed.
- To make multiplication times tables more fun, create a room-sized multiplication table. (See the colorful example below.)
a. You will need 24 pieces of white construction paper. Write each number one through twelve on a piece of white construction paper. Make two sets. On the floor place, one set on the top and one on the left side. (See the example below.)
b. Next, write the multiples of each number on different colors of construction paper. For example, in the table below, multiples of four are all orange. There should be twelve separate pieces of colors, with 12 of each color. (Use 144 pieces of multi-colored paper.)
c. Using the example below, build out the multiplication table on the floor.
d. Play various games with the room-sized multiplication table. Three examples follow:
– Step on each number of the 3s times table, etc.
– Find the number that equals 4×7 and stand on it.
– Gather up all the 6s.
e. After students become proficient with the colored multiplication table, create an all white table and practice the above activities. - Using sidewalk chalk, create a hopscotch for each table. (2s, 3s, 4s etc.) Have students recite their skip counting chant, while jumping on each number.
- Students should be filling out a multiplication table until they can do them quickly. They do not need to be colored once they can skip count.
–12×12 Multiplication Table Template
–Practice Multiplication Facts Sheets
Click image to open pdf document
Multiplying two-digit numbers
- Worksheets:
–Multiplication Printables: 1 and 2-Minute Multiplication
–Two-Digit by One-Digit
–Long Multiplication - Videos:
–Multiplication: Two-Digits by One-Digit
–Multiplication Stories: Two-Digit by One-Digit - Games:
–Counters, Pictures and Visual Models
–Basketball Game Multiplication
Decimals
Activities:
- Explanation video:
–Decimals: Definition with Examples - Videos adding and subtracting decimals:
–How to Add and Subtract Decimals - Decimal worksheets:
–Word Problems, Riddles and Pictures - Decimal game:
–Adding and Multiplying Decimals
Greater than and less than symbols
Explanation:Greater Than, Less Than and Equal To
Activities:
- Worksheets:
–Picture Comparisons for Greater Than, Less Than - Videos:
–Comparison for Kids
–Comparing Numbers: Greater Than, Less Than
–Using Greater Than, Less Than and Equal to Signs
Fractions
Third graders begin to compare fractions. For example: 1/4=2/8.
Activities:
- Take the opportunity to share various foods or items.
– Orange sections are a natural example of fractions.
– Hershey’s chocolate bars are a delicious way to teach fractions up to 12/12. - Worksheets:
–Fundamentals to Advanced Fractions - Fraction videos:
–Comparing Unit Fractions
–Comparing Fractions
–Fractions for Kids
–Equivalent Fractions
–Comparing Fractions with Different Denominators
–Equivalent to Whole Numbers
–Practice with Fractions on a Number Line - Games:
–Visual Models and Manipulatives
Helpful websites:
Fourth Grade
Number and Number Sense
Factors (Try not to teach factors and multiples together. Children get them mixed up!)
Before you begin, view thisillustrationto understand or teach factors.
Activities:
- Worksheets:
–Finding Factors
–Factors and Pre-Algebra Worksheets
–Factorization, GCM, LCM, Prime Factorization - Videos:
–Factors for the First Time
–Learning Factors Made Easy
–What are Factors? - Games:
–A Fun Factors Match 3 Game
–Understand Factors and Factor Pairs within 100
Greatest common factor (GCF)
Once children understand factors they should practice finding the greatest common factor (GCF). Thisillustrationexplains how to find the GCF.
- Worksheets:
–Greatest Common Factor
–Greatest Common Factor - Videos:
–Learn How to Find the Greatest Common Factor
–How to Find and Compare Factors
Multiples
Try not to teach multiples and factors together. Children get them mixed up! Here is anillustrationof the difference.
Activities:
- Worksheets:
–Multiples of Given Numbers - Videos:
–Multiples Explained
–Multiples and Divisors
–What are Multiples?
Least common multiples (LCM)
Before you begin, thisillustrationwill help you to understand and teach the LCM.
Activities:
- Worksheets:
–Least Common Multiples
–Math Practice: Least Common Multiple - Video:
–LCM for Beginners
Multiplication
Activities: See activities provided for third-grade students.
- Children should practices completing a 12 x12 multiplication table until they can quickly complete it. Increasing the multiplication table to 15×15 will help students know math facts needed for algebra.
– A blank multiplication table 12×12:Printable Multiplication Table
– 15×15 multiplication table:Printable Multiplication Chart
–Practice Multiplication Facts Sheets - Illustration of 2- and 3-Digit Multiplication
Division
Fourth graders should understand that division is the inverse operation of multiplication and know division facts to 100.
Activities:
- Worksheets:
Division Math Facts Practice Sheets - Students should recognize the three ways to write division problems:
1. Division line:
2. Division bars written like this:
3. Division boxes:
Fractions
Fractions are recognized to 1/12 in fourth grade. Fractions must be added and subtracted by finding the common denominator.
Activities:
- Videos:
–Equivalent Fractions
–Equivalent Fractions: Equal Parts of a Whole - Game:
–Visual Models and Manipulatives
Adding fractions
- Videos:
–Find a Common Denominator with a Four Square Organizer
–Finding a Common Denominator
–Fractions Addition with the Same Denominator
–Adding Fractions with the Same Denominator
Subtracting fractions
Activities:
- Worksheets:
–Printables: Numerators, Denominators and Converting Fractions - Video:
–How to Subtract Similar Fractions - Games:
–Adding and Subtracting Fractions
–Long Division with 2-Digit Divisors
Helpful websites:
Fifth Grade
Long Division
Activities:
- Worksheets:
–Adding and Subtracting Fractions
Squares, square roots, exponents, and cubes
Statistics
How to create and read frequency tables:Data and Graphing Video
- How to create a dot plot:Graphing: Dot Plots and Line Plots VideoandDot Plot Graphs Printables
- Stem and leaf plots:Data and Graphing Video
- Range:Range: Statistics Video
- Mean, median, mode videos:
–Things We Can Measure in Statistics: Mean, Median, Mode and Range
–Mean, Mode, and Median: A Tutorial
–How to Calculate Mean, Median and Mode
Worksheets:
- Frequency table:
–Interactive Maths - Dot plot:
–Printable: Dot Plot
–Dot Plot Graphs Printables - Stem and leaf plot:
–Printable: Stem, Leaf Plot Practice - Mean, mode, median, and range:
–Printable: Mean, Mode, Median, Range Practice
PEMDAS(Order of operations)
Remember this as “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally”. PEMDAS should be memorized. This is the order in which problems should be worked:
P= parenthesis (and brackets)
E= exponents
M= multiplication
D= division
A= addition
S= subtraction
Percentage
Game:Percentages
Ratios
Worksheets:
Coordinate plane
Videos:
Once children understand the concept of the coordinated plane, they are ready to plot Cartesian Cartoons. This is a great website that gives you the plot pattern of different coordinated planes. Many of the plot patterns are holiday pictures. The website also has printable numbered graph paper:Cartesian Cartoons Graphing Puzzles
Sixth Grade
Algebra
Definitions:
Videos:
Numbers Properties
- Distributive Property:
The distributive property can be described as a Walmart or Amazon distribution center. Numbers are distributed like merchandisers distribute products. - Commutative Property:
The commutative property can be described like commuting to work. Numbers are on the move, back and forth. - Associative Property:
The associative property is the friendship property of math. The numbers group together and hang out.
Illustrations of Number Properties:
Videos:
Percentage to Decimals to Fractions
Worksheets:
Video:
Geometry
Perimeter worksheets:
- Find the Perimeter of a Rectangle Practice
- Find the Perimeter of a Triangle Practice
- Find the Perimeter of Irregular Shapes Practice
Perimeter videos:
- Intro to Perimeter
- Find the Perimeter of a Triangle
- Find the Area and Perimeter of a Rhombus
- Find the Perimeter of Irregular Shapes, Missing Lengths
Area worksheets:
Area videos:
Seventh Grade
Slope:
Illustrations:
Worksheets:
Polynomials
Definition:Polynomials
Videos:
- Algebra Basics: What Are Polynomials?
- Adding and Subtracting Polynomials, Part I
- Adding and Subtracting Polynomials (Combining Like Terms)
- Multiplying Polynomials by Monomials, Part I
- Top 3 Mistakes Students Make Factoring Polynomials
Factoring polynomials
Illustration:
Worksheets:
Videos:
Eighth Grade
Integer exponents
Worksheets:
Videos:
Function
Definition:What is a Function?
Worksheets:
Videos:
- What is a Function?
- Algebra Basics: What Are Functions?
- Identifying Functions with Ordered Pairs, Tables and Graphs
Linear Equations
Definition:Linear Equations
Worksheets:
Quadratic Equations
Definition:Quadratic Equations
Videos:
