Halloween math is a great way to motivate kids to actually want to do math. Let’s face it, math isn’t always a favorite subject. But it will quickly become a favorite when you add a Halloween twist to math practice. There are many different skills that can be practiced by adding a Halloween twist to math practice. Below are my three favorite ways to get kids excited about math as Halloween approaches. 
1. Grab Some Pumpkins There are many different Halloween math activities that can be done with a few pumpkins. Get about 6 or 7 pumpkins and label each of them with a letter or to make it even more fun let the kids give each one a name. Now the kids can get involved in estimating and measuring. Have them order the pumpkins according to weight, from the smallest to the largest. Then they can estimate how much each pumpkin weights. They can also estimate the circumference of each pumpkin and then the height and width of each one. If this is a bit difficult for the kids, do the measuring for one of the pumpkins first so that the kids will have some idea of the mass and measurements on one pumpkin before they do their estimating for the others. 
After all of the estimating has been done it is time to start measuring. Get out the scales and some measuring tapes and record the weight, circumference, height and width of each. Children can then record their results and see how accurate their estimates were. 
2. Halloween BuzzBuzz is a counting game that has been played by kids for ages. It can quickly become a Halloween math game just by changing the word ‘buzz’ to a Halloween word. You might like to use ‘Dracula’, ‘Boo’ or ‘trick or treat’. Start with multiples of seven being the banned numbers that have to be replaced by the buzz word. 
To play the kids just go around the group counting in ones but when they get to the number seven, any multiple of seven or any number that contains a seven, they say the buzz word instead. If they don’t they are out. So the counting should sound like this – one, two, three, four, five, six, ‘boo’, eight, nine ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, ‘boo’ etc. Sounds easy but does require concentration and also a good knowledge of multiples. 
3. Build a SkeletonIn this Halloween math game, two teams or two players compete against each other. This game involves choosing a basic skeleton shape to be drawn as the game progresses. A math question or problem is given and the first player or team to answer correctly wins the right to draw a piece of the skeleton. The first team or player to complete the skeleton is the winner. To make it even more fun paper skeletons can be bought and pulled apart. The winner of each round can then take one piece of their skeleton. The game is over when one player or team has all of the pieces of the skeleton. 
Not all kids like math but when math becomes Halloween math this will change and the kids will be begging for more. Hope the kids enjoy these Halloween math activities. Happy Halloween!

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As an adult, student, or parent, it is common to experience a lack of confidence in dealing with numbers.  This common problem many times gets blown out of proportion and can sometimes be a roadblock to success in school, work, or helping your children become more confident in their abilities.  In this article, I outline five skill areas to improve in order to increase your own skill, speed of calculations, and self-confidence when thinking mathematically.

These skill areas are exactly that: things to practice repeatedly until you can do them quickly and with confidence.  In school, beware of things being taught but with inadequate time given to practice.  Think of these ideas as homework assignments for you or your children.  If given enough time, these building blocks can tremendously help a student get through mathematical situations in school or life with ease!

Math Skill Building Block #1: Basic Math Facts

This step is very common sense, but extremely important, and is sometimes not practiced enough in elementary school before students are allowed to move on.  Everybody MUST know addition and subtraction facts of at least two-digit numbers.  We have to combine or take away quantities like this every day, and we don’t need a calculator!  Push the calculator away; practice adding or subtracting two-digit numbers comfortably until you can do this quickly without your fingers.

Learning the multiplication facts up to at least 12 is also a must.  When you really know these, you should be able to list the multiples of 12 easily, or count backwards from 100 by 7′s, etc.  If you are working with your child, try these multiple lists or counting backwards subtract exercises.

TIP:   Break numbers apart in order to add or subtract.  Instead of 12 + 39, think of it as 10 plus 39 equals 49, but add two more to get 51.   OR     12 plus 40 is 52, take away one more is 51.  This is an excellent mental math exercise.

Math Skill Building Block #2: Working with Percents

Knowing how to take a percent of a number is really just taking a part of a whole amount.  We know how important this is when we work with money, finance, buying & selling, investment, and other parts of our lives. 

Students must be able to work with percent concepts.  To practice, find 10% of any number.  Of course, this is just moving the decimal point over one place to the left.  For example, 10% of 55 is 5.5, 10% of 39.6 is 3.96, and 10% of 442 is 44.2.

Likewise, people need to find 1% of a number (move the decimal 2 places to the left), 5% (half of the 10% amount), 20% (one-fifth of something), 50% (half of something), 75% (half of the number, then add half of that).  The understanding of percents and their fractional equivalents is HUGE!  And, it takes a lot of practice and repetition.

TIP:  A magical way of finding the percent of a number is to take advantage of the fact that, mathematically, 15% of 50 is the same thing as 50% of 15 (7.5).  Just switch the percent number with the other number to find an easier calculation.  Try it!

Math Skill Building Block #3:  Using Estimation and Rounding

The ability to estimate how much something will cost, how much paint needs to be purchased, how much space is required, etc., is a critical skill for students to master.  With repetitive practice, all of us need to be able to improve our speed of rounding numbers before a calculation, or rounding the result of our calculations.  Most of the time, we don’t need the exact answer.  Knowing how much to round and estimate our numbers is tested all of the time in our math and science classes at school.

Look for opportunities to find estimates: cost of a home improvement project, money earned over time, time it takes to accomplish a task, or increase and decrease of temperature over time.  After estimating, challenge yourself or your children to use a calculator or paper to test out how close you are to the actual answer.  If students can quickly estimate an answer, even for a complicated calculation or problem solving exercise, their confidence will skyrocket!

TIP:  Practice estimation skills when grocery shopping.  You or your children can call out the price of an object before putting it in the cart, and keep track of the estimated total.  Whoever is closest to the actual total is the winner!  If the grocery list is huge, just round each amount to the nearest or , or whatever might be appropriate.

Math Skill Building Block #4: Creating Your Own Word Problems

This skill is the reverse of the dreaded task of reading a word problem from your math textbook and solving it.  In this case, parents or students should think of a situation in terms of how it could be written in a math textbook.  I encourage my students to put a problem in their own words (aloud), then write it out on paper (they can be really creative at this point), then do the next critical step: look for mathematical operations clues.  These “clue words” force the solver to think about how the quantities are related or how they interact in the problem.  If students can’t put the situation into mathematical language, then they don’t really understand what is being asked.

TIP: Mathematical “clue word” to look for, after you write out the problem on paper —

                Addition:   sum, total, together, combined, given to, put in the pile, money earned

                Subtraction:  take away, withdrawn, money paid, amounts lost, less

                Multiplication:  multiple groups, piles with the same amount, repeated addition, “of”

                Division:  split into groups, how many in each group, part of, “part”

Math Skill Building Block #5: Understanding Basic Geometric Concepts

The geometric concepts of area, perimeter, and volume are ideas that can be directly relevant to students as they study them in school.  A simple connection could be the task of building a house or constructing anything.  Other ideas to include are properties of squares, rectangles, and the sides of special right triangles.  Building block #3 (Estimating) ties in to this idea, also.

Have yourself (or your children/students) estimate the volume of water that a certain container will hold.  Use simple block shapes at first to reinforce the volume formula of three-dimensional objects (area of base X height,     OR    length X width X height).  Then pour water into the container that has measurements on the side to check the estimate.

Another idea is to measure the two legs of an object that is in a right triangle shape.  Then estimate the hypotenuse (diagonal distance).  An example would be to find out how high a set of stairs is, how far out horizontally they reach, then measure the distance along the top of each stair down to the lower level.  For older students studying the Pythagorean Theorem (for right triangles) this is a great application of the idea.  For younger students, ask them how far it looks from one corner to the other of a rectangle or square on a piece of paper.  Then measure to see who is closest.

TIP: Geometric ideas relate directly to objects found in our everyday lives.  Take advantage of this and practice applying what you know about squares, rectangles, and diagonals to estimate square roots without the calculator.  Then check your calculations.  You will feel or see increased confidence after several successful tries.

These building blocks are taught in the early days of everyone’s education, but sometimes are not practiced enough to be effective tools in your mental toolbox.  Whether you are a student, parent, or someone who feels a lack of math confidence, keep these tips in mind.  It doesn’t have to be dull; just increase your speed with basic math facts and estimation, then learn to work with percent concepts.  Look for “clue words” in problem solving situations, and check things out later with a calculator.  With these tips, anyone can again rediscover their “math brain”!

For all those who find learning math an insurmountable problem despite all attempts to understand it, help is at hand. Solving Math Problem is a web portal dedicated to the cause of making math easy to understand and learn. It is ideal not only for students and teachers but also for parents who find it difficult to explain to their children the process by which a math problem is solved.

The website provides step-by-step instructions to solve the problems given on the site. They claim to teach a universal process which can be used over and over again. By using the techniques given on the website, you can revise the math that you have learnt. All the necessary information is provided how to do it is provided on the website.

Everything that you need to know about various math functions is provided on the site in detail. The free math help page gives you a step-by-step solution to any math problem that you have difficulty in understanding. You can share your personal experience about any math-related experience in your life or leave a personal message about any observation that could be of help to other math students.

The web site has a math symbol page which tells you in great detail about all symbols that are used in modern day mathematics. You can get all the information that you need about operating symbols, relation symbols, grouping symbols, symbols for set notations and other miscellaneous symbols that are used in common mathematical equations such as square root, ellipsis, infinity, percentage and factorials.

Another unique thing about the Solving Math Problem portal is that you can access many on-line calculators and download them for free. Apart from the basic calculator you can also have easy access to Smart Calculator, Algebra Calculator, Graphing Calculator, Exponent Calculator, Square Root Calculator and Specialized Calculator among many others.

The Math and Number page gives you valuable and ready-to-use information about integers, decimals, fractions and about different units of measurements. They also teach you in detail about margin of errors and rounding of errors which are applicable to all advanced mathematical applications. The page on math properties helps you understand everything about real numbers in a simple and lucid manner. You can learn everything about Associative, Communicative and Distributive properties of mathematics. Information about Density property, Closure property and Inverse property is also provided in great detail.

The web portal Solving Math Problem is a unique and highly useful site for students, teachers, parents and for all those who are learn math the easy way. Students from all fields of math can find the solution to their math problems here.

Maths GCSE is a very important qualification to hold, in most parts of the United Kingdom. Many adults both young and old for whatever reason may not have passed their GCSE maths first time, or may not have even had the chance to take it. Starting a course from scratch can be daunting however, it can help towards moving on to further educational courses which could eventually lead to higher education at degree level or an alternative to degree level study.

Distance learning is an option that has become very popular in recent years, giving those who may not have the time to study a full time classroom based course the option to gain the qualifications they need from the comfort of their own home.  Distance learning maths courses can also be used for gaining entry to teacher training courses such as the Postgraduate Certificate in Education better known as the PGCE.

The majority of maths home learning courses are approved by and suitable for the main examining boards such as Edexcel and AQA.

Home learning is suited to individuals such as single mothers who cannot find the time to go into college to study. Even people who are working and want to gain extra qualifications to improve their career prospects. There are more and more options for individuals who want to change their lives for the better without sacrificing work or family life.

The majority of home learning maths courses can be completed in the students own time and are usually entirely flexible. The only time the student would have to go into college or an educational institution would be to take the formal exams. These usually take place at a local college or educational centre. It is up to the student to contact the establishment and make arrangements to sit the exams. All students studying a home learning course will have to make the institution aware that they are entering as a private candidate; therefore they will be responsible for paying the examination fee.

The cost of a maths home study course is affordable, therefore giving anyone who wants to take up study the option to do so without the worry of excessive course fees. Most home learning courses are available to purchase easily online, and normally give the student the option to have e mail or phone contact with the course tutor. Therefore although studying will be different from the traditional classroom study, the student is never alone because they always have the option of making contact with the course tutor.

When thinking about studying a home learning maths course it is always a good idea to contact the company to discuss your options before committing to anything. However it is never too late to gain the qualifications one needs to improve their quality of life.

Maths GCSE is a very important qualification to hold, in most parts of the United Kingdom. Many adults both young and old for whatever reason may not have passed their GCSE maths first time, or may not have even had the chance to take it. Starting a course from scratch can be daunting however, it can help towards moving on to further educational courses which could eventually lead to higher education at degree level or an alternative to degree level study.

Distance learning is an option that has become very popular in recent years, giving those who may not have the time to study a full time classroom based course the option to gain the qualifications they need from the comfort of their own home. Distance learning maths courses can also be used for gaining entry to teacher training courses such as the Postgraduate Certificate in Education better known as the PGCE. The majority of maths home learning courses are approved by and suitable for the main examining boards such as Edexcel and AQA.

Home learning is suited to individuals such as single mothers who cannot find the time to go into college to study. Even people who are working and want to gain extra qualifications to improve their career prospects. There are more and more options for individuals who want to change their lives for the better without sacrificing work or family life.

The majority of home learning maths courses can be completed in the students own time and are usually entirely flexible. The only time the student would have to go into college or an educational institution would be to take the formal exams. These usually take place at a local college or educational centre. It is up to the student to contact the establishment and make arrangements to sit the exams. All students studying a home learning course will have to make the institution aware that they are entering as a private candidate; therefore they will be responsible for paying the examination fee.

The cost of a maths home study course is affordable, therefore giving anyone who wants to take up study the option to do so without the worry of excessive course fees. Most home learning courses are available to purchase easily online, and normally give the student the option to have e mail or phone contact with the course tutor. Therefore although studying will be different from the traditional classroom study, the student is never alone because they always have the option of making contact with the course tutor.

When thinking about studying a home learning maths course it is always a good idea to contact the company to discuss your options before committing to anything. However it is never too late to gain the qualifications one needs to improve their quality of life.

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Many Parents are Worried
Parents often complain that the methods used to teach math in schools are not helping students progress. What are parents supposed to do? Don’t wait to get your child help, the problem will not go away, and they will fall further and further behind everyday.

Is There a Connection Between Math and Reading Problems?
Yes, there can be. Some students who have difficulty with math also have difficulty with reading and spelling. Parents know their child is intelligent but something is just not right because the child struggles with addition and with sight words. The first step to take towards getting help for these problems is to get an expert examination by a behavioral optometrist immediately.

It is Best for Students to Proceed at Their Own Pace
Having to follow a classroom plan in math is extremely difficult for children who are weak in math.

It does not make sense to move ahead until the child truly understands and grasps the concept they are weak in before they move on. Once they demonstrate confidence in their ability to understand one concept then they can move forward. Working on their own interactive math program at home can boost their confidence and get them up to level and it can be entertaining rather than a struggle.

The Other Side of the Coin
The flip side are students who struggle with reading but are great at math! These children will benefit from lots of practice lessons and drills to anchor their math skills. Using an interactive math program at home can allow a good student to go as far as they desire.

Math in Many Situations
Making math fun is the best way for children to learn and everyday opportunities abound for presenting math concepts to children.

Have your child help you when shopping, teach them how to distinguish which product is a better buy. Learning math is often easier and faster when using manipulative’s, real coins, counters or even M&M’s. Playing board games help little ones learn how to count. Teach them how to start a saving account and keep the balance current.

Not All Programs Are Created Equal
A good way to memorize math facts is by singing. Another is to use a good on line math program which is proven to be effective Choosing the best one for the job is important. Note: A good math program is not a video game. We now know video games break down the visual system, memory and visual motor (eye hand) coordination.

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So many people around the globe are looking for and. Is it that homework assignments have become tough or is it that students are unable to answers math problems? Yes, I agree that standard of education has increased in the recent days, but the expert assistance which students receive is still the same. Math answers have become something which the student is still struggling to derive. Math is a very complicated subject for which initially extra effort and expert assistance is required. In spite of having many online tutoring, private tuitions and home tuitions students are not able to understand the concepts well and because of this they start to develop an aversion towards the subject which in turn reflects on their grades. Due to this factor the number the college dropouts have increased in the recent days. www.ehomeworkonline.com has adopted a methodology to provide math answers and also act as a math problem solverto studentswho are unable to derivemath answers

At eHomeworkOnline, we provide help with math through our math problem solver service which serves as a guide to the student when they are trying to solve math assignments. At eHomeworkOnline, we are equipped with a group of 120 math problem solvers and math answers expert who would be able to provide and also solve any problem. This service of ours has helped thousands of students to understand the basic methodology involved and also to secure good grades. Every problem is solved by experienced a math problem solveronline. All the assignments provided is checked and verified by a group of certified and experienced math problem solver again and only then delivered to the student.   This homework help service will not only make the student secure marks but also will make him understand and realize the beauty of the subject.

Thousands students have benefited from our service. The feedbacks from out students have always been positive, encouraging and inspiring. We would like to extend out thanks to all our math problem solvers and students who have contributed to this successful math problem solver service and we also request you to continue the support. We strongly believe that many more students would avail our service this year.

For more information visit www.ehomeworkonline.com/math/

Very funny math stuff

As a child I hated math. It was a subject that I struggled with on a daily basis. Whilst in high school I stumbled across a method for easily multiplying numbers. This method is perfect for those who have difficulty with their times tables. By using this method your average primary school student can master their six through to twelve times tables within a matter of minutes.

MULTIPLYING TWO SINGLE DIGITS

This method simplifies calculations by the use of a reference number. To multiply two single digits we use 10 as a reference number. I will use the sum 8 X 9 to demonstrate the method. All three steps in this method can easily be performed mentally. However, when your child is first learning to apply the method they may initially prefer to use a pen and paper.

Step 1

We first mentally subtract the two digits in the sum from our reference number. That is 10 – 8 =2 and 10 – 9 =1. The numbers derived from this subtraction will be written below the original sum like so:

8 X 9

2    1

Step 2

We then subtract diagonally. Either subtract 2 from 9 or 1 from 8. The answer is 7. This is the first digit in the answer.

Step 3

We then multiply the two lower numbers. 2 X 1 = 2. This is the second digit in the answer. So the answer to 8 X 9 is 72.

To give another example we will use the sum 6 X 7. This particular example gives a result at step 2 that needs to be modified in step 3. This modification is common sense so should not prove problematic.

Step 1

6 X 7

4    3

Step 2

Subtract 3 from 6 or 4 from 7. The answer is 3 (This will need to be modified in the next step).

Step 3

4 X 3 = 12

The answer to 6 X 7 is not 312 (3 from step 2 + 12 from step 3) but rather 30 + 12 which is 42.

MULTIPLYING NUMBERS GREATER THAN 10

It is also possible to multiply numbers greater than ten whilst still using 10 as a reference number. The method is similar to that used above but with a few minor differences. Because the numbers that we are multiplying are greater than the reference number we will add rather than subtract diagonally as we did in step 2 in the previous examples. To demonstrate this we will multiply 11 X 12.

Step 1

We first mentally calculate the difference between each of the two numbers in the sum and the reference number. The numbers derived from this will be written above the original sum like so:

1       2

11 X 12

Step 2

We then add diagonally. Either add 11 + 2 or 12 + 1. The answer is 13. We then multiply this by the reference number (10). This gives us 130. This is the first part of the sums answer.

Step 3

We then multiply the two upper numbers. 1 X 2 =2. This is the final digit in the sums answer. We then add the result of step 2 (130) to step 3 (2) to give us the answer to our problem. So the answer to 11 X 12 is 132.

MULTIPLYING WHERE ONE NUMBER IS GREATER THAN AND ONE NUMBER LESS THAN THE REFERENCE NUMBER

The following example will demonstrate the method for multiplying numbers where one number is greater than and the other is less than the reference number. To demonstrate we will calculate the following sum 9 X 12.

Step 1

Since 9 is 1 less than 10 we put 1 underneath the 9. 12 is 2 more than 10 so we put 2 above the 12. Our calculation currently looks like this:

       2

9 X 12

1

Step 2

We can now either add 2 to 9 or subtract 1 from 12. The answer is 11. This should be multiplied by the reference number to give an answer of 110.

Step 3

We next multiply -1 X 2 = -2. The result of this calculation is negative because a positive number multiplied by a negative number gives a negative number as the answer. Where we have a negative number we must subtract this from the number we calculated at step 2 (110). So 110 – 2 =108. This allows us to see that the answer to the calculation 9 X 12 is 108

EXTENDING THE SYSTEM

This system can be extended to handle any multiplication calculation. It is possible to use numbers other than 10 as a reference number. It is also possible to use several different reference numbers within the one problem. With a minimal amount of practice anyone can use these methods to quickly perform mental calculations. Parents who teach these methods can ensure that their children have the best start in maths. Children who use this system rapidly become confident in their ability to perform multiplication. Nobody need fear maths when they have the ability to quickly calculate the answers to sums. The sky truly is the limit for those who use these multiplication methods.

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Maths is an important part of our every day lives. We need it for every calculation we make. From recipes and shopping to tax returns and salaries, maths plays an important role everywhere. This is why it is important that children are taught maths while they are still young.

Tha…

To most people mathematics is not something to get excited about. Maths is a subject most were forced to take at school, something most people really did not like. So why is maths so important?

Maths is an important part of our every day lives. We need it for every calculation we make. From recipes and shopping to tax returns and salaries, maths plays an important role everywhere. This is why it is important that children are taught maths while they are still young.

Thanks to games such as bingo maths, it is no longer a boring and hated subject for children! By playing fun bingo maths games, children are taught to love and take an interest in arithmetic. This way parents can make maths homework fun and teachers can have less headaches on how to make maths interesting!

How does bingo maths for children work? Bingo maths for education is usually quite simple, but great fun. It usual consists out of addition and subtraction for younger children and multiplication and division for older children.

Bingo cards are used for bingo maths. Instead of a number on the card, a maths formula is used, e.g. 4×3= or 12-7=. A caller draws and calls numbers. Each player has an individual board with their maths cards. If the number called matches one of the solutions on your card, you can mark off the number. The first person to mark off all there problems, is the winner of the game.

Many schools have realised the potential of maths bingo in teaching children that arithmetic is fun and interesting. Some schools even have bingo maths clubs and have competitions against other schools.

Bingo maths cards are really easy to make. You can either make a 3×3 card with 9 problems or a 5×5 card with 25 problems. You can even make these cards on some bingo maths websites! Try to use as many different formulas as possible. This will ensure that you have only one winner per game. Write down all the solutions to the problems, this will be numbers that are called to play during the game.

Of course bingo maths is not only for children. Grown-ups can have just as much fun playing bingo maths with their children. This is an excellent way to spend time with your children, as well as teaching them the basics of maths in a fun and exciting way!

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Year 7 Homework Sheet  A – Mixed Topics

1. Work out (don’t use your calculator):

a) 46 ×7

b) 3192 ÷ 7

c) 4129 – 1387

d) 1.47 + 12.8

2. David has some goldfish in a fish bowl (use the letter g to stand for the amount of goldfish in the bowl). Write down a mathematical expression for the amount of goldfish in the bowl if:

a) 5 more goldfish are added

b) 5 are taken out

c) the amount of goldfish are multiplied by 6

d) the amount of goldfish is divided by 2.

3. If x = 7 and y = 5 work out:

a) x + y

b) 3x

c) 4y

d) 2x + 3y

4. Calculate:

a) 15% of £280.

b) 25% of £16

5. In a survey on favourite school subjects:

 14 people voted Maths

12 people voted Science

4 people voted English

Draw a pie chart. If you don’t have a protractor just calculate the angles needed for each subject.

Answers:

Score 1 mark for each correct answer:

1.

a)322

b) 456

c) 2742

d) 14.27

2.

a) g + 5

b) g – 5

c) 6g

d) g/2

3.

a) 7 + 5 = 12

b) 3 × 7 = 21

c) 4 × 5 = 20

d) 2 × 7 + 3 × 5 = 14 + 15 = 29

4.

a) 10% = 28 and 5% = 14, so 28 + 14 = 42

b) 10% = £1.60 and 5% = £0.80. So £1.60 + £1.60 + £0.80 = £4.00

5.

The angles required are:

a) 14 × 12 = 168

b) 12 × 12 = 144

c) 4 × 12 = 48

Total marks 17.

If you scored 15 – 17 marks Grade A

If you scored 12 – 14 marks Grade B

If you scored 9 – 11 marks Grade C

If you scored 5 – 8 marks Grade D

Less than 5, Grade E

Useful links:

Grid multiplication

Expressions

Percentages

Pie-charts

Lecture 1: The Geometry of Linear Equations. View the complete course at: ocw.mit.edu License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA More information at ocw.mit.edu More courses at ocw.mit.edu
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