Addition - Learning About Addition

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     When you think of addition, you generally think of 2 + 2 = 4.  Right?

     You may be interested to know that addition goes much further than just simple calculation of small, whole numbers.

     Believe it or not, students from kindergarten to high school still experience difficulties with addition.

     You see, there is quite a bit more to addition than just 2 + 2 = 4!  Primary students can learn to add whole numbers.  Junior students learn to add fractions.  Intermediate students add integers and high school physics students learn to add vectors.

Let’s look at the process of addition and how it is taught and used from earlier grades to the more advanced ones.

  1.   Young students are given pictures of objects.  They are asked to count the objects and ‘add’ them together to create a new group of objects.

  2.    Children are then taught how to add numbers, like in the example above,           

      2 + 2 = 4.

  3.   When students understand how to add simple numbers, they will learn addition facts.  For example, they will learn their addition facts with the number 3 (3+1=4, 3+2=5, and so on).

  4.   After developing a good understanding of addition facts, students will learn addition using words (e.g. three + two = five).

  5.   The teaching and learning of addition facts will continue with greater numbers.    Students will learn addition facts up to 10, then 20 and so on.

  6.    When your child has a good understanding of addition up to 50 or 100, he/she will learn to add 10’s.  Now we are getting into a different concept of addition.

  7.    Once your child learns to add by 10’s, he/she will learn to add 2-digit numbers (e.g. 43 + 36). 

  8.    As the skill of addition with 2-digit numbers is being practiced, students will learn   addition with 100’s.

  9.     The addition pattern continues.  Once students learn how to add 100’s, they will learn 3-digit addition (e.g. 253+ 537).

10.  Now, students will learn how to use mental math and estimation.  They will begin  

 to use addition in a new way without doing calculations.  They will start to ‘round’ numbers in order to add easily in their heads.

11. All of these addition skills will then carry over to other parts of the curriculum.  Your child will learn math and addition in different contexts.  Addition will also be taught with measurement (smaller units up to large units), time (seconds, minutes, hours, days), money (starting from 10¢ to $100), and temperature.

12.  In the junior grades, students will learn how to add like fractions, unlike fractions, and mixed numbers.  They will also learn addition with decimals.  Again, first one, two, then three digit addition with decimals.

13. In the intermediate grades, students will learn how to add one, two, and three digit integer equations. 

14. High school students will be adding binomials in algebra and vectors in physics.

     You can clearly see the levels of progression in addition.  You can help your child by understanding the developmental process of math addition and making sure your child understands each stage.

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