Second Grade – Math Worksheets

Math in Primary Grades – Math Their Way

There is something about primary grade math that is very confusing to young children. I am not saying that teachers are not doing a good job teaching math, but there seems to be a lack of understanding on how children process math and what concepts are they ready to grasp. It is important for teachers to understand that children do not transfer knowledge the same way adults do.

I am not sure what causes math confusion in first grade. It should be simple, teach the fundamentals and let the children grasp concepts and build on it. But hey, that would be just too obvious. We teach our first graders abstract thinking. We present material in non-sequential order ( ex.- Everyday Mathematics) . We expect them to already know what we are teaching. Assessment, assessment, assessment.

Kindergartners and First Graders are rushed through the numbers. Counting by twos, fives, and tens is taught through rote memorization. And if you ask any of these kids what comes after 10, they will often say 20.

We need to teach children the way they learn. Fundamentals of math, and they need to be presented in sequence.

Here is a great site with good downloads. Hope that you find it useful. It has a number of math activities that will help your child learn math in a fun engaging way.

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