Addition: What's Your Strategy?

What's your strategy?

The students are well into addition to 12, and while the problems are fairly simple to solve, the challenge often comes when they are asked, "Well, how did you sove that? What's your strategy?".

Our Math curriculum aims to arm students with a bank of strategies they can draw upon to solve a problem. This enables students to develop a deeper, more meaningful understanding of addition, subtraction, and numeracy overall, and requires them to think about the problem.

Posted on our wall are strategies that can be used when solving addition problems. As we are introduced to a new strategy, it is posted on the wall. Here are the strategies we have worked with so far:

Posters courtesy of Step Into Second Grade

(1) Draw a Picture / Use Counters
This strategy is fairly straightforward. Students know that pictures do not need to be fancy and detailed, but do need to be neat and functional. Counters do not need to match the problem exactly (e.g. using real cats or dogs), but can be used to represent the problem (e.g. brown counters for cats and white for dogs).

Here is a student solving a challenging word problem using counters:

There are 10 marbles in a box. Some are yellow. Some are green.
There are two more green than yellow marbles.
How many yellow marbles were in the box?

(2) Doubles

Doubles are math facts that use the same number, such as 4+4 or 6+6. To help students remember their doubles to 12, we learned a catchy little song.

(3) Counting On

This strategy can also be called counting on from the bigger number. For this strategy, students put the bigger number "in their head", then count on. For example, when solving 2+7, students put the bigger number in their head, in this case it is 7, and then count on two more. Say, "7 (touch forehead) ..., 8, 9". Students are encouraged to touch their forehead when they put the bigger number in their head.

Using the counting on strategy for 2+7.
7 (touch forehead) ... 8, 9!

ZAP IT! Game

We have really enjoyed the game ZAP IT this week! Students play in small groups. Each group receives a cup of popsicle sticks. On the sticks are math facts (and for now, they are all addition problems with answers no bigger than 12). A few sticks in the cup say ZAP IT.

• Set the timer for 3 minutes.
• Take turns pulling a stick from the cup.
• Keep the sticks you get correct.
• If you pull the ZAP IT stick, put all of your sticks back.

Can you tell the addition strategy this
little one is using to solve his addition problem?

Students have been using their doubles and counting on strategies to help them!  Why not make this game at home? If you are interested and would like a set of popsicle sticks, I would be happy to send a pile home. Or just buy a box of popsicles and get licking!

Next up? Subtraction!