Monday, December 1, 2008

new maths

one of the coolest things about my job is that I get to learn a lot all the time.

for example, I recently got to spend some time with the Everyday Math curriculum and people who know it far better than I do.

this is what I learned: a new way of doing math. and it is cool. maybe you already know this, but just in case you don't, I will share the partial sum equations process for addition with you. It was my favorite.

Example Problem:

579 + 285 =

What you do is go left to right, like in reading. this makes sense, right? And you start by adding the hundreds, then the tens, then the ones. This way kids get a sense that that 5 actually means 500s, it's not just a 5.

So you add the hundreds: 500 + 200 = 700

Then you add the tens: 70 + 80 = 150

Then you add the ones: 9 +5 = 14.

And then you add it all together: 700 + 150 + 14 = 864.


Okay, let's try it again, just in case you're confused.

347 + 928 =


Hundreds: 300 + 900 = 1200
Tens: 40 + 20 = 60
Ones: 7 + 8 = 15

1200 + 60 + 15 = 1375.

Isn't that awesome? I love it!

1 comment:

Jen said...

Love the new math. Think it's brilliant. But my ten-carry-the-one brain won't ever readjust, I'm afraid, which makes it very difficult to actually teach the new math.