{Before I start, I would like to say with the advancement in technology, any blog can be turned into Audio version with two steps on your device.
Just go to Accessibility— Spoken Content— Speak Screen (Apple Devices) or Accessibility— Text to Speech Output (Android Devices)}
Preamble: Developing Math Skills among Children – the real purpose of this blog is to create habit of logical and rational thinking from young age and improve mental health in general. This pupose can be achieved in variety of ways thanks to the technology and new scientific innovations.
Based on my personal experience, one of the ways is through introduction of numbers and math skills. I am not talking about starting right away from year 1 or year 2 of the child. This article is meant to introduce these skills once he / she is in Grade 3 /4 when the basic number counting and simple addition / subtraction has been familiarised. Trust me the purpose is not to make them smarter for calculating tips when they grow up.
Grade 3/4 is the time for starting to learn number tables which is a multiplication of two numbers. Technically multiplication is a kind of short-cut of addition. We all know in today’s world, we do not need to memorize all these tables because in every device (cell phone / tablet / laptop), there is a calculator and we could do all that with a click.
But we should keep in mind that inspite of availability of these devices, we still have number tables in our curriculum. The reason for that is to improve mental health and create capability of logical analysis. This is very important for a child, applying your mind to generate answers in your brain.
At this point, I would like to share my story when I was in Grade 3, way back in 1969. My father asked me how I am doing in Maths? I replied its good and I learnt number tables from 2 to 21. And, I could be tested for any table. Instead of asking me to tell the whole table, my father started asking me dodging table numbers.
It means asking random multiplication within the number table. For example- how much is : 8 x 9 or 12×7. It was hard to answer as number tables are memorised in a sequential manner like : 8×1=8; 8×2=16; 8×3=24 and so on and so forth. Answering dodging tables was hard at that point of age. Then he asked me to memorize this way and then we will try again.
It bacame a kind of daily test as whenever I was around, my father used to ask me dodging tables with random numbers. It bacame a challenge for me and I started to learn this way and became quite used to it. And, after couple of months I had the same grasp level as with regular number tables. And, my father stopped asking me once I passed my Grade 5 but to this date I am pretty good with numbers and number analysis.
The point I am trying to make is that this way of learning in a non-sequqntial manner helped me in the later years to start thinking outside the box and finding solutions differently.
Suggestion: This is my suggestion to all parents and teachers to apply dodging number tables method of learning alongside regular number tables. I am writing below my most favourite dodging numbers and answers:
8 x 9 = 72; 14 x 5 = 70
7 x 8 =56; 17 x 6 = 102
9 x 6 =54 13 x 7 = 91
12 x 7 = 84 11 x 6 = 66
18 x 9= 162 19 x 9 = 171
9 x 8 = 72 19 x 5 = 95
Above are few examples only, you can create your own worksheet or download online. In the beginning, children will find it annoying and they would prefer to walk away from you. Here is the technique- use this exercise when you find them in a confined space like going to school or to a mall or going on vacation in a car. This will take away the walking away part. And, keep it interesting by way of humour or reward.
After a couple of years, this will become their routine and they will be more independent, rational, logical down the road. Actually, even as a strategy as a student, it pays to be good in math as this is the only subject with possibility of scoring 100%. Math can help improving your overall grades if you lack in some other subject.
Conclusion: Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. As parents / teachers, our job is to teach them to focus on their strengths. And, this can be achieved by making them to make choices rationally and logically. This blog highlights one such technique.