Our adventure with double digit subtraction has officially begun in room 8! Spring is my favorite time of the year for math because we really kick things into high gear! About two weeks ago I introduced the concept of double digit subtraction to the kiddos. I just love the excitement this challenging concept generates for second graders. The anticipation of learning something totally new... and then the feeling of accomplishment and success when they get it! Moments like these are what make teaching so rewarding.
I am completely impressed by the way this class has really picked up the concept quite quickly. I added something new this year and I think it totally helped. :) On the first day I introduced double digit subtraction and did lots of modeling on the board. Also, I used dimes and pennies to represent the numbers concretely so the students could get a good visual picture of the whole borrowing from your neighbor business. Then I introduced the chant, "More on the top, no need to stop. More on the floor, go next door and get 10 more."
I think what made this process so successful this year was that I then taught the concept to every child in a small group (4 student) math group. I have to give a big shout out to my awesome parent helpers! Your help with math centers is such a treasure!
During small group instruction I modeled the concept yet again showing the work on the board and used dimes and pennies. Then each student made this handy dandy flap book.
This I believe was the secret to our success! Before we approached each problem we read our choices and decided which type of a problem we were solving. Then we flipped up that flap and solved the problem together. What an effective tool!
Here is a pic of one student using the flap book as a tool the following week.
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