Subtraction Activity # 2 LEGOmaniacs have fun building math activities LEGO homeschooling lessons

Download the entire book of my activities, which includes the progress chart and other goodies please
Author of Lock Block Logic, John Messerly, presents subtraction number two, from his book. Play with blocks and learn math principles which will help you to see how math works. Research shows children learn best with hands on materials. John taught Math to children in a major inner city school system for ten years. This book was written up in LEGO magazine and USA Today
Everyone can benefit from a better understanding of how math works, the activities will cover Number theory, number patterns, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and geometry.
Subtraction activity 2 expands subtraction as a mathematical concept. In subtraction activity 2 we again look at the 2 important models of subtraction. The more often represented take away model where we have a quantity of something, some or all are taken away and we count out what is remaining. The comparison model is just as common in real life situations and this is a situation where we determine the difference between two quantities. How many more are there? When the learner actually builds, draws, and writes about these 2 subtraction models the learner can internalize both these concepts. The take away model is very much the opposite of the addition examples we work with while the comparison model is more subtle. Subtraction is a powerful concept and the most complex, and largest subtraction example build off these easy and fun activities. Have fun with subtraction.
There have been suggestions to dramatically shorten the videos and this an attempt to do so. There are places in this video to pause, explore, or draw on your own. Both exploring and drawing are extremely import activities. Please put the video on pause and take 5 minutes or more to explore freely with your blocks. By all means, please draw out what you have done and write about what you have done. Keeping track on your progress chart is not vital to understanding, this is merely record keeping and can be skipped.
Much of this book of activities is based upon the work of the famous Developmental Psychologist Jean Piaget.
Children learn from the physical world and then begin to learn abstract concepts like language and reading. Math works the same way. In these activities we begin with the physical or concrete objects, then we express the concept in a semi concrete manner when we draw a picture or 2 dimensional picture of what we did with the physical blocks. Finally we add some abstract, written, comments on our concept. This is a very powerful way to learn. This type of learning model is recommended and yet seldom followed though in a classroom setting.
We are using blocks which are familiar to many children and are found in many homes. Many educational materials particularly those for teaching math like Cuisenaire Rods difficult to come by and relatively expensive, plus they are not toys for playing. Thus LEGO blocks make an excellent material for the task of teaching math in a fun and physical or hands on way. LEGO blocks seem to be extremely well made, they are colorful, and I find them very fun to work with. Some of these blocks are small and should not be used for children under the recommended age.
Homeschooling situations are so much more common now and these activities would be a very nice addition to any home schooling curriculum. Feel free to down load the entire Lock Block Logic book and peruse some of the explanations on these lessons/activities. These activities can be useful for someone very capable in Math, hands on activities can and do lead to better understanding and deeper insights. People who avoid math will also benefit from the simple yet very powerful concepts provided.
Even though math can be done nicely using a calculator, these hands on lessons can understand the math concepts. This is vitally important to using a calculator correctly. One must know what do with number, when to add, subtract and so forth in order to get the right answers with a calculator. Math concept understanding also helps the calculator user to know when the answer is sensible. Use math manipulative to teach math principles. Move thru concrete thru semi concrete, and back to abstract using these activities.