It’s said that the best way to learn is by making mistakes. Kids in elementary school are beginning their exciting journey into learning many different things. So, mistakes are bound to take place. This article provides you with some of the most common math errors that elementary students make. So, the next time you teach your kids math, you will know which areas need the most attention and what sort of mistakes you need to look out for.
#1 Using the wrong symbols
A common math error that kids make is confusing between the mathematical symbols or operators. As elementary students, kids are shown different symbols that signify different mathematical functions. Certain symbols can look like one another for first-time users. For example, a child can confuse the symbol of subtraction with that of the division and the same goes for the symbols of addition and multiplication. These are the most common reasons why elementary students make mathematical mistakes.
For example: When adding two number, say 3 and 5, the child may write 3 X 5 = 8, instead of 3 + 5 = 8.
#2 Adding multiple numbers
One of the toughest task for kids is to apply mathematical functions to multiple numbers. Most common math errors are caused due to this. Elementary students generally make a mistake while adding the more than two numbers, for example, 26, 30 and 4.
While adding the numbers 26, 30 and 4, the child may get confused and put 4 in the tens place. In this case, the child confuses with the place value of the numbers and thus, get an incorrect result.
#3 Multiplication errors involving two digit numbers
Lesley R. Booth, in her article points to many common math errors that elementary students commit. From a survey of five primary schools in Singapore, Booth discovered that students hardly had any trouble with single-digit multiplications. However, when it came to multiple digits, they began making mistakes such as value placing errors, mistakes while multiplying with zero, confusing units and tens places, etc.
For example, A student multiplied the numbers 12 and 16 and got 84 as the answer. This mistake took place due to a confusion of the units and tens places.
#4 Dividing with zero
Zero seems to be a tricky number for elementary students. Whenever this number comes up in a mathematical problem, children seem to be taken completely off guard. One of the most common math errors for most students is to think that when a number is divided by zero, the answer is zero. It seems that students confuse a division with zero with a multiplication with zero.
For example: A student wrote 4 ÷ 0 = 0. Here, the student confused a division by 0, with a multiplication with 0.
#5 Common math errors with a decimal point
The decimal point is yet another mathematical entity that stumps young students. Elementary students often mistake decimal point placements when adding or subtracting numbers with the decimal point.
For example: Some examples include adding 0.1 and 1 and coming up with answers such as 0.2 and 10.1.
No comments:
Post a Comment