Do you feel the work your child is doing is not stretching them?
Do you worry that they may be getting bored?
The answer is often not to move them on to bigger numbers, but to broaden and deepen their understanding so they really 'get' the concept, rather than just number-crunching. This way, the learning will be there for ever, rather than being forgotten when the next concept is introduced.
Below are some ideas for developing broader and deeper understanding.
Ask questions about the calculations you have been working on together (choose different questions on different days)
1. Can you do that calculation a different way?
(for example: Did you use a number line? Try doing it by adding the tens then the ones)
2. Can you prove it?
(for example: I know 27 + 15 = 42, because 27 is 20 +7, 15 is 10 + 5. 7 + 5 =12. 20 + 10 = 30. 12 + 30 = 42)
3. If you know that, what else do you know?
(for example: I know that 27 + 15 = 42. So I know that 270 + 150 = 420. I know that 42 - 15 = 27, and that 42 - 27 = 15. I know that 25 + 15 = 40.)
4. Can you think of a real life situation where this would be helpful?
(for example: There are 27 children in Badgers Class and 15 in Squirrels Class. There are 45 chairs. Are there enough for both classes to sit down?)
5. Can you make up some 'missing number' sentences for someone else to solve?
(for example: 27 + ? = 42; 42 - ? = 27; 40 + ? = 27 + 15)
6. Can you think of some other questions that would have the same answer?
(for example: 22 + 20 = 42; 25 + 17 = 42)
Set some challenges for your child to solve
1. Write the calculations in a different way.
for example: 2 ?
+ 1 5
4 2
2. Write three calculations, two right, one wrong - spot the mistake and say what the mistake is!
(for example: 20 + 7 + 15 = 42; 17 + 25 = 42; 10 + 7 + 2 + 5 = 42)
3. Write three calculations; what is the same, what is different. (Beware - this one takes a bit of thinking about when creating the number sentences!)
(for example: 27 + 25 = 52; 17 + 25 = 42; 7 + 35 = 42. They all have a 2 in the answer. They are all addition. One of them has a one digit number at the beginning. One of them has two numbers that have two tens. One of them has an answer that is ten more than the other two.)
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