Techniques for teaching maths to right brain children?

11 Plus Maths – Preparation and Information

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DiW
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 9:16 am
Location: Essex

Techniques for teaching maths to right brain children?

Post by DiW »

I have discovered that my daughter is a right brain child that needs to visualise things in order to understand them. Does anyone have any experience of, or tips for, teaching decimals, percentages and fractions to a child like this? I have found some great stuff on you tube for multiplication which works like a dream but I am struggling to find techniques for the more abstract concepts.
stevew61
Posts: 1786
Joined: Fri Nov 17, 2006 9:54 pm
Location: caversham

Post by stevew61 »

Search for "fraction cubes" and look at equivalence cubes (fractions, decimals, %).

I have sent you a PM with a link.

Most kids need visual help with this, most schools use fraction cubes. :D
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Post by yoyo123 »

lots of things she can manipulate, cut up cards, string etc into equal pieces, percentages, work from half, quarter, visualise it cut into 100 pieces.

Not sure how old she is and therefore what stage maths, but using counters, pictures, 3D objects. Try Googling Kinaesthetic teaching for some good ideas.
Fro venn diagrams and classifying hoops or string laid out on the floor and objects put intoteh relative section.
Ratio and proportion can be reinforced by adapting recipes, then cooking them to use weights and measures. You can talk about temperature scales too.

Thermometers are a useful introduction to negative numbers

for scale problems,a map or one of those bathroom and kitchen planners you get in the back of Catalogues from DIY places...

cutting out and manipulating nets of shapes.

drawing diagrams for problems always helps me.

hope that helps.I'll dig around and try and find some more
DiW
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 9:16 am
Location: Essex

Post by DiW »

Thanks for those ideas - that's great and I'm sure they'll help.
She's Y5 so will be taking the 11+ this November. It's not that she can't do these things at all, she can, but she often seems to forget things that she has learnt previously and I want to try and get them concreted in her mind so that she remembers how to do them at the crucial time!
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Post by yoyo123 »

I know how she feels! I am always having to draw diagrams to work out problems. ..
DarkEnergy
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Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Rugby

Post by DarkEnergy »

Great! Your DD is a lucky girl. I am also very strongly visual and automatically convert problems into visualisations, images, films, 2D and 3D objects etc etc. I was never taught and am totally self taught. But it makes solving many problems incredibly easy. It almost becomes intuitive and many problems resolve with little effort.

Have a go at introducing DD to the memory techniques that have been popularised... open a door into a room and the first object you see is ... link to whatever you need etc etc

DD will be a natural, just need to get her started.
DEATH rides a white horse named Binky
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Post by yoyo123 »

try googling Mind Mapping , it is a highly visual way of organising your thoughts and information.
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