When young learners first begin their math journey, a lot of the concepts and ideas may be overwhelming and hard to understand. As adults, many of us can do math without visuals, but visuals are a great aid when trying to learn a concept. Check out some of our ideas on how to use visual representation to teach the basic concepts.
What is Visual Representation?
Visual representation is when information is presented using images and objects to help teach a concept or as a method to organize and extend those concepts.
Why use Visual Representation?
Using visual representation is a great way to help young learners engage in learning and strengthen their understanding of various mathematical concepts.
What do you need for Visual Representation?
When using visual representation, you can use what you have at home or be able to get what you need at a low cost from somewhere like the dollar store. We personally like having physical objects for our learners to move around and work with. You can also use visual representation digitally, if you have older learners as well.
Examples of Visual Representation to Teach The Concept of Addition
In order to make these representations, we used items we already had around the house and created our own math symbols using construction paper and makers. You can then switch out the symbols as needed or increase the complexity as they begin to grasp the concepts.
This is not limited to addition, but can be used for subtraction, date management, one-to-one counting etc.
The options here are limitless and allow you to be as creative as you want! Make learning fun and keep your young learners engaged. It will help set them up for learning harder concepts are they progress through their individual math journey.
Note: Every child/person learners different and at different rates. Be patient and if it takes them a little longer to grasp a concept, give them the space and time needed to learn. Be encouraging and allow them to make mistakes and learn from them. They will thank you for it!
Comments