The MathIt Blog — Page 2

Exponents explained: what the small number means and the rules that follow from it

What the base and the exponent mean, how powers of 10 connect to place value, the five laws of exponents with worked examples, why any number to the power of 0 is 1, and the mistakes that cost marks.

Math word problems: the routine that stops the freeze

Your child can do the arithmetic and still stalls on the story. This guide gives a seven-step routine, four ways to draw a problem, and the key-word traps that send children straight to the wrong operation.

Number bonds explained for parents: the pairs that make later math fast

A plain explanation of the circle-and-branches diagram on your child's worksheet: the six bonds of 10, the four facts each one carries, and a five-minute kitchen-table routine.

Long multiplication explained: the order that makes it stick

The order that makes long multiplication stick: the times-table check, 36 × 24 as an area model, the placeholder zero, and the four mistakes that ruin the second row.

Decimals explained for parents: reading, comparing and using them at home

Decimals break the one rule children trust about numbers: more digits means bigger. This guide explains decimal place value, the padding step that settles any comparison, and the money and kitchen examples that make it stick.

Place value explained for parents: what it is and how to help at home

Place value is why the 3 in 347 is worth 300 and why carrying, borrowing and decimals work at all. This guide covers what each grade is expected to know, four ways schools show a number, and five kitchen-table steps that build it.

Mean, median and mode explained, with worked examples

Three summaries of the same list of numbers give three different answers, and all of them are correct. Here is how to find the mean, the median and the mode, with worked examples, the even-count rule and the mistakes that cost marks.

Prime numbers explained: how to spot them and why they matter

What makes a number prime, why 1 is left out, the square-root test that settles any number under 100, prime factorization with factor trees, and the six mistakes children make.

New math homework, decoded: what each strategy is for

Number bonds, open number lines and area models look strange to anyone who learned to carry the one. This guide explains what each strategy does, which old method it leads to, and how to help without contradicting the teacher.

Fractions explained for parents: what school teaches now and how to help at home

Fractions changed since most parents learned them. This guide explains equal parts, the number line, equivalent fractions, comparing and adding with unlike denominators, with worked examples you can do at the kitchen table.

How to calculate percentages: three formulas and the mental shortcuts

Every percentage question is one of three calculations. Here are the three formulas with a worked example each, the 10% trick for doing them in your head, and the mistakes that make a sale price or a news headline come out wrong.

How to teach long division, with worked examples

The four steps of long division, three fully worked examples, the partial quotients method many schools teach first, and the mistakes that cost the most marks.