subject: Skip Counting-Why Kids Should Learn It? [print this page] Skip Counting-Why Kids Should Learn It?
Skip Counting
Skip counting is a basic math skill needs to be learned by students in elementary grades (grade one to grade 3). In grade one kids learn the basic counting to one hundred using a hundred chart. The same hundreds chart can be used to introduced kids with the skip counting.
There are the following main reasons, kids in elementary grades should learn skip counting:
1. The natural numbers have many connections with each other and after learning counting by ones in grade one, the next step in the learning natural numbers is skip counting, as it shows kids that there are more than one kind of relations between the natural numbers. Kids learn that natural numbers can advance forward by two's, three's and fives too.
2. Skip counting gives a strong base to kids for learning times tables. Times or multiplication is actually repeated addition of the same number and by learning skip counting, kids learn how to add numbers. Skip counting by 2's is actually the times table for number 2. Learning skip counting makes kids on very strong in adding the numbers and hence multiplication of numbers later on.
3. The basic algebra starts at patterns, and to learn patterns, skip counting is the key. Elementary school kids learn number patterns by working on skip counting problems which enable them to visualize the numbers relations with respects to all the four operations of math named, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
To start teaching skip counting to kids, parents and teachers should ask kids some question about counting numbers at the hundreds chart, these question can be based on writing numbers; for example, from 42 to 73 or writing numbers backward from 100 to 1.
When students get very comfortable with hundred chart, they should teach with skip counting on this chart. Parents or teacher should encourage the kids to practice skip counting to hundred on a regular basis. Students in grade two should be able to write all the even numbers from 2 to 100 and the odd numbers as well. Kids should be introduced with even and odd numbers in the hundred chart to teach them basic skip counting.
As soon as kids start to understand the even and odd numbers in the hundreds chart, they have learned, actually, skip counting by 2's to one hundred.
Hence, to introduce kids to skip counting, hundred chart is the key. In hundreds chart, kids should be introduced with even and odd numbers, which is a skip counting skill by itself as even and odd numbers comes alternatively.
As soon as kids in grade two or grade three learn even and odd numbers and hence skip counting by 2's, now they should be encouraged to learn skip counting by 3's, 5's and 10's. Students should finish skip counting skills by the end of grade three, as in grade four or five kids need to learn times tables or multiplications.
In summary, it can be said that to skip counting is a key skill to learn for kids in elementary grades as it make them smarter in times tables and patterns and hence in algebra. To learn skip counting, hundred chart is the key where kids can see all the numbers in relation to each other and learn even and odd numbers. Students can try skip counting worksheets to practice skip counting skill or they can ask their teacher to produce skip counting problems according to their understanding level.
Regards
Manjit.
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