Mathematics is considered a “hard” subject by many students, and rightly so. It is regarded as a critical subject in any formal educational system in the world. The subject is entirely different from many other theory subjects. In many cases, most students are good in all other academic subjects but fail to keep up their grades in Mathematics.
To understand Mathematics, several factors must be taken into consideration. In this article, we will see how to teach weak children Mathematics? But before that, let us see why children could not perform well in Mathematics and see how to overcome this difficulty with some tips on teaching children Mathematics.
Reasons Why Children are not Performing Well in Mathematics
#1. A fixed mindset that Mathematics is hard
#2. Weak fundamentals
#3. Lack of conceptual clarity
#4. Inability to visualise the given situations
#5. Lack of confidence
#6. Pressure to score good marks
There can be many more reasons. Labelling the kids as weak in Mathematics or tagging the subject as the toughest can affect their confidence which will further reflect in their understanding of and aversion to the subject.
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Teaching Children Mathematics
The following are some of the effective ways for teaching Maths for weak children:
#1. Acceptance of the Reality
If your kids are better in other subjects than in Mathematics, let your kid know this. You can’t hide the truth from them and keep your children in denial. Acceptance is considered the first step to tackle any problem.
Sit with your children and let them know that they may not be doing well in the subject now, but you have the utmost confidence in them that they will improve soon. Let them know that it’s alright not to be the best in everything and show them how they can work on it, help them understand various tricky concepts to enjoy the subject, and their grades are sure to improve.
#2. Encourage Children to like the Subject
It is essential to understand that Mathematics will help your children in the long run; their understanding of the subject and implementing it in real life is far more important than getting good grades in elementary school. Hence, get your kids to enjoy Mathematics; let them know the importance of the subject by showing the mathematical concepts in practical application in their day to day life.
Start with fun and interesting visuals, games that involve mathematics, and then take it to the next level. Encourage them to ask important questions like what does a particular concept mean? Why do we learn this? Where do we apply it practically? No matter how simple it seems, every question is important to have a clear understanding of the subject.
#3. Instil Positivity and Confidence
Words like “you are poor in Mathematics” or “Weak in Maths” will harm your kid’s confidence levels. A healthy, positive, and confident environment is crucial for children to excel in anything. Some extra effort from children and a little additional support from parents and teachers will help them improve.
A healthy, positive, and confident mindset provides an excellent boost for children in their learning journey. As a parent, you should be on the lookout for opportunities to teach positivity and confidence in your child. Reward them for small victories in the subject when they successfully solve a new problem or grasp a new concept. This will encourage them to do better.
#4. Focus on the Basics
Mathematics is a subject of connections. It’s shaped like a pyramid, i.e., all the concepts are interconnected. With Mathematics, children cannot simply forget about what they have learnt in one academic year after qualifying for the annual exams and getting into a new class.
Without proper knowledge of previous concepts, it isn’t easy to do better as what they learn each year is a foundation for the following year’s syllabus.Teach your kids the basics of the subjects, help them practice with all the effort and time every day until they grasp the concepts, introduce the next chapter or concept only after that.
#5. Focus on Weak Sections
After mastering the basics of Mathematics, focus on the concepts or chapters your kids are weak in and need extra practice. In fact, as an effective step, divide the concepts of the subjects into different categories like
- Easy topics
- Moderate topics that need little practice
- Complex topics that require a lot of attention and practice.
In this way, you will know how to divide the time usefully for your kids for studying Maths. Please make sure you concentrate more on the sections they find challenging, work on them, try different methods to see how your child understands better, and move in that direction for further progress.
#6. Make them Practice Well
It is no secret that practice is most important to score well in Mathematics. With vast concepts, it is important to make kids practice regularly for hours if needed. Give them several questions that enable their thinking ability and see how they approach the problems.
To excel in Mathematics, understanding and knowledge of various question types, different formulas, equations, and problems is a must. All of this is possible only with the right amount of practice. When your child practises daily, they will automatically begin to like the subject, be more comfortable, and be ready to learn advanced topics.
#7. Ask them to Make Notes
Mathematics consists of a lot of equations and formulas. It will be pretty challenging for tender minds to learn initially, so encourage them to develop the habit of making notes of all the essential points. Making notes will help
- Remember the formulas, equations well
- Act as a ready reference whenever required
- Act as quick materials to revise before the exam
#8. Analyse the Mistakes
To see how better the practice is helping and how well children are understanding the concepts, try to keep small mock tests at home. Make sure your questions are different and test their critical thinking skills.
Once they are done with the exam, see where they went wrong, assess the results and make them understand how they could have solved it in a better or easier method. Further, encourage them to ask questions wherever they don’t understand or face any difficulty.
#9. Apply Mathematics in Real Life
Nothing would help kids understand Mathematics better than to make it an integral part of your daily life. This will make the subject more manageable and meaningful.
For example, ask your kids to see the grocery list, calculate, pay the bill, and keep the change. This is to help young kids in basic math operations.
Explain to them that Maths is everywhere like geometry in Rangoli, fraction in Pizza etc. Even while practising, explain the concepts by relating to different scenarios of your daily activities. In this way, kids will never forget the concepts in the subjects.
#10. Hire a Personal Tutor
In today’s world, mostly both the parents have busy lives dealing with their career and taking care of the home, expenses and the children’s and their own well being.
Taking everything into their stride, they hardly have any time left to devote to regular study sessions; no matter how hard you try, a day has only 24 hours! That’s where a personal mentor steps in; engage a personal mentor or tutor for your kids to help them out with the conundrum of mathematics.
Conclusion
At The Real School Of Montessori, you will find such one-on-one personal mentors who will work with your kids to boost their knowledge, help them improve their grades and hence, their confidence level.
These are some of the ways to teach Maths to weak children. Never force your kids to work only to get better grades because that will never help them better understand the subject.Encourage them to gain proper knowledge of the concepts, and the grades will automatically follow.
For more such informative content, effective strategies, visit our website Real School Of Montessori where we provide one-on-one online mentoring for kids to become problem solvers, thinkers, and innovators. Consider joining the personalised online mentoring at Real School Of Montessori to ensure overall exposure for your kid. Make sure to sign up for the free trial class to make the next best decision for your kids!
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