Make sure
to teach the children to always start with the larger
number when adding. If a child encounters the problem,
3+7, s/he should start
with 7 and count on 3. The child says' "7.....8,9,10,"
as s/he touches the spots on the 3.
Touch Spots
6 through 9 are rarely used for addition because
they are usually the larger number and other fact
strategies are more efficient. For example, students
should learn the doubles easily, ( 5+5, 6+6, 7+7,
8+8, 9+9) If the children know the doubles, you
can teach them how to use what they know about doubles
to learn the doubles plus 1 facts. (5+6, 6+7, 7+8,
9+9) If a child encounters the problem, 7+8, s/he
might say, "7+7 is 14 so 7+8 must be 15 because
this is a double + 1 more problem."
Download
enlarged Touch Spots in PDF format to display
on your bulletin board for student reference.
