What Are The Benefits Of Math In The Second Grade?

It’s difficult for most students to enjoy math class, and most students struggle in math because of how it’s taught.

Math is unavoidable and necessary, so our hope is that your 2nd grader has someone who can teach her well.

To aid in your child’s math development, we have put together a list of fun 2nd grade math activities you can do at home. If you are a 2nd grade teacher, these activities can also be used in the classroom.

Benefits of Math in the 2nd Grade:

Math is not only a subject to learn in the second grade, but learning math cultivates a way of thinking.

Math helps children learn how to:

• Think critically and logically.
• It helps children develop their problem solving skills.
• It also teaches them how to use concrete objects to represent abstract concepts which will help them later on in life when they have to solve problems with little information.

Math is a subject that can be challenging for some children, but is important for all children to learn. Introducing activities and 2nd grade math games that are fun can help children get a head start on this subject and improve their skills in the future.

What Are The Best 2nd Grade Math Activities For Kids?

There are many activities that can be done with children to help them learn math. The best 2nd grade math activities for kids are math games that make learning fun, engaging and motivating for young learners.

There are many benefits to doing these type of activities with your children. For one thing they are fun, and kids are more engaged when they are having fun! But more importantly they will help your child to learn math at a young age which will give her a head start in school and life.

5 Awesome 2nd Grade Math Games to Play at Home with Your Kids:

• Math Bingo For 2nd Grade;
• 2nd Grade Math Games With Dice;
• Ten Frame Counting;
• Puzzles;
• Flashcards.

Math Bingo For 2nd Grade

The classic game of bingo has been transformed into a fun teaching tool to learn addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Math bingo is an excellent way to practice or improve your child’s math skills. Math bingo works the same as the normal bingo game. But instead of announcing the numbers, you announce a mathematical operation. Your child will have to check if he has the answer on his bingo card. Your child will have fun, while he practices mathematical operations.

Click on the link to get 2nd grade math resources online.

Feeling creative? Make your own bingo cards with construction paper. The numbers in the squares will represent the answers. You can be the “caller”. Instead of calling out B-52, as in the traditional game, you can draw out the math problems, which you can write out on smaller cards. E.g the cards can read 2×8=8 or 12+2=14. You read out the left of the math equation and your little one places a marker on what he thinks is the right answer. For markers, use pennies. If your child’s card is right, then he gets to keep the pennies, this will also encourage him to study before the game.

2nd Grade Math Games With Dice

• Race to 100:

This dice game for math is great for young kids to practice counting or adding to 100. For this game, you will need 2 dice and a piece of paper or a hundred chart. This game needs to be played with a partner ( which could be you) or a small group of your child’s peers. The player will roll the die, add the numbers together, and add the sum to their total score. This continues until they roll two ones. The player will then pass the dice to the next person who does the same. This continues until one player reaches a score of 100 or more.

Players may keep track of their score on a piece of paper or a hundred chart.

• Make that Number:

This is a simple dice game to practice addition and subtraction. All you need is 2 dice and a list of numbers (0-12).

You can either play with your child or have her play with a small group. Players will roll the dice and add or subtract their numbers together (they choose the math operation). They will then find their total on their number chart and mark it off. Players take turns doing this until all the numbers have been marked off.

Because players may choose to add or subtract, there are multiple answers they can get each time. If the first answer they arrive at has already been marked off the chart, they will need to try to find a different solution. If all possible solutions have been marked off, then the student loses their turn. The winner is whoever has marked off more numbers at the end of the game.

Ten Frame Counting

If you teach math to early childhood students, it’s important to understand what a ten frame is. Ten frames are tools for teaching math and they help kids with developing number sense. Thinking about numbers using frames of 10 can be a helpful way to learn basic number facts

A ten frame is a two-by-five rectangular frame into which counters are placed to demonstrate numbers less than or equal to 10. Counters can be arranged in different ways to represent different numbers, which visually help your children develop strong number sense.

Why “10”? Because, 10 is the building block of our Base 10 Number System. Learners who have a solid understanding of this number, can relate that understanding to all different areas of math. For example, a child who can understand 10 as being made up of a 4 and a 6, can then start to see 100 as a 40 and a 60. It’s imperative that your child makes these connections, and using ten frames really helps him to do this.

Click on the link to get 2nd grade math resources online.

Puzzles

Jigsaw puzzles are a fun and relaxing activity for families with young children to do together. However, puzzle play offers more than this. Puzzles are an opportunity for young learners to explore key early math concepts, including shapes, sizes, and how and where one puzzle piece fits with another to make pictures or designs. This type of activity involves spatial reasoning.

2nd Grade Math Lessons Around Puzzles:

Parents can deepen children’s learning by finding and talking about spatial concepts that are naturally a part of puzzles. Here are some ideas:

• Ask questions about different puzzle pieces. “Do you think this piece will fit here? Why will it?” or “Why not?”
• Point out prominent features of puzzle pieces. “That piece is small and sharp. We need a large triangle.”
• Give clues and prompts to help your child find the right piece. “That piece is upside down. What happens if you flip it and turn it sideways?”
• Describe the blank spaces where puzzle pieces go. “We are looking for 3 edge pieces here. For the left and right and top of the puzzle. The pieces will have straight sides.”
• Use hands, as well as words, to explain. “This is a corner piece.” (Point to the corner). “It has two flat edges. This puzzle has four corners. Let me show you.” (Point to each corner.)

Flashcards

Math facts are basic calculations that children can learn in order to help them do arithmetic more quickly. By committing math facts to memory, they can be recalled fluently so attention is freed for working on higher order math functions. There are many ways to help children learn math facts. Flash cards can be effective if you use them at the right time. Before encouraging your child to answer math facts quickly, it is important to help your child build a conceptual understanding of math facts so that she can transfer her knowledge across contexts. Once she conceptually understands math facts, flash cards can help her improve her math fact fluency .

How to Teach With Flash Cards:

The Constant Time Delay flashcard teaching strategy is widely used by educators. The Constant Time Delay strategy can be used easily with flashcards at home to teach any subject.

You will need flash cards with a question or problem on the front and an answer prompt on the back.

1. Sit facing your child.
2. Arrange the flash cards in the order you would like to present them or choose them randomly if you wish.
3. Hold up the first card so your child can clearly see the front. Keep the back of the flash card toward you so your child cannot see it.
4. Read the front of the flash card to your child, if necessary. Allow your child about three seconds to consider the question on the flash card and think about her answer. Remember, the key is keeping things fun. The best kind of learning occurs when your child is having too much fun to realize how much they are learning.
5. If your child gives a correct answer, place the correctly answered flash card in a pile on your right.
6. If your child gives an incorrect response or no response within three seconds, tell them the correct answer. Place these flash cards in a pile to your left.
7. After you have finished showing your child all the flashcards, go back to the incorrect pile and continue your flash card teaching session. Continue in the same manner, placing correctly answered flashcards on the right and incorrectly answered flashcards on the left.
8. Once your child has mastered the full set of flashcards, practice them periodically to ensure your child remembers them.

Math is a vital skill for children to learn. In second grade math, children begin to work with larger numbers and develop a stronger understanding of place value. Kids also learn everyday skills like telling time, working with money, and measurements. Math is the foundation for many life skills so it is imperative that your child practices as often as possible.

Practicing these 2nd grade math activities at home will supplement their education at school and build strong math fluency.

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What math activities and games do you play with your child at home? I would love  to hear from you. Please leave a comment below.