Developing an understanding in number

4. Strategies for basic number facts (and extensions)

Why use strategies?

• Research shows that children learn basic facts with more ease when encouraged to use strategies, rather than use drill or rote learning approaches.
  
  
• Use of strategies promotes understanding, practice, strategy development and finally recall of basic facts.
  
  
• Children respond positively to strategy-based activities as they are generally nonthreatening and each child is able to utilise what he/she knows as a starting point. For this reason, these activities are suitable for children of all ability levels.
  
  

How to encourage strategy development

Children need to realise that there is usually more than one way to solve any number sentence (indeed, any problem). It is important for them to discuss what they do know, to consider different ways of arriving at a solution and to use a range of strategies in order to fi nd the ones that work best for them.

Whenever possible, the home tutor should allow children to share with each other the strategies they would use in a given situation, as well as sharing with them the strategy he/she would adopt.

Developing strategies

The list of strategies that follows is by no means exhaustive. It is quite likely that, given the opportunity, some children will develop their own strategies that they feel confi dent using. Providing these produce correct answers, their use should be encouraged and noted.