Doubling strategy to add

Just like the count-on strategy for addition (see video here)  that I talked about in my last newsletter, children need to be able to engage with the use-doubles strategy ( see video here) for addition with interactive and memorable activities to link the strategy to long-term understanding.   

It’s important that children experience maths with hands-on activities. Why this concrete experience is so important is that they have to see numbers as quantities rather than just symbols – more than just 1, 2 , 3.  Instead they are :

When reinforcing the double strategy to add, encourage your child(ren) to discuss various doubles they see in their environment. For example, they may see two front tyres and two back tyres on a car to equal four. We can relate the doubles to so many things around us –  fingers and toes: 5+5, wheels on a car : 2+2, or the eggs in a carton: 6+6.

The Using Doubles strategy involves decomposing one addend to make a double with the other addend.  For example, 7 + 8 is the same as 7 + 7 plus 1 more.

Our goal for the doubles facts is automaticity. This means that child(ren) no longer have to think much about the equation in order to solve it. Rather, they just “know” the answer and are able to say the answer within 1-3 seconds. For example, when a child sees the equation 8+8, he/she should know that it equals 16 without even stopping to think about it. 

This isn’t just a strategy for the Infants though, it can be used in Primary as well. Encourage your child(ren) to apply this strategy to numbers beyond the basic facts. For example, the strategy can be extended to solve 25+25.  It can be used to add numbers like 63 + 65 … which is just double 64.  We want our children to use efficient strategies to solve addition problems, not revert to formal written algorithms when we are trying to add up numbers in our head.

Tell Them From Me Survey

A huge thanks to the 19 people who have completed the survey and who have emailed me to let me know that they have submitted it.  I have entered these people into the draw for $150 Family Entertainment voucher.  We would really love to make it MUCH more difficult for these people to win.  One of our families is going to win this prize, we would really love to have all of our families enter into the draw. This would mean that we would have a whole school response to our survey, giving us feedback from our whole school community.  We have extended the TTFM survey by two weeks with a new closing date of 12 November. So please, please, please complete the survey and then simply drop me an email to let me know you have done so and I will enter you into our draw.  Remember, both parents can enter!

God Bless