{"id":501,"date":"2014-12-22T04:17:38","date_gmt":"2014-12-22T11:17:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/?page_id=501"},"modified":"2015-07-09T23:43:42","modified_gmt":"2015-07-10T05:43:42","slug":"opposite-math","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/opposite-math\/","title":{"rendered":"Opposite Math"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"blackwhite\"<\/p>\n

Hot . . . Cold<\/p>\n

Wet . . . Dry<\/p>\n

New . . . Old<\/p>\n

Open . . . Shut<\/p>\n

Children can grasp the idea of opposites at a young age. If you take advantage of this concept when teaching math, it cuts your work in half!<\/p>\n

Instead of teaching subtraction, teach “opposite addition”.<\/strong> If you know that 3 + 5 = 8, then you can do the opposite. When you see this problem: 8 – 5 =___, just make it into a backwards addition problem. Start at the opposite end (the back) and add this way: what number plus 5 equals 8 ?<\/p>\n

This works for multiplication too. Once you know your times tables, then division is a snap! If you know that 4 x 6 = 24, then “opposite multiplication” will solve 24 divided by 6 = ___ . Start at the opposite end (back) of the problem to read it: what number times 6 equals 24?<\/p>\n

The most fun application of opposite math is in dividing fractions. This may look like a formidable problem to kids:
\n\"oppositemath2\"<\/p>\n

(I know that it stumps me briefly when I cook and have to divide a recipe.) But if you teach them that division is just “opposite multiplication”, then you can turn the second fraction upside down (into its reciprocal), and make this into an easy multiplication problem:<\/p>\n

\"oppositemath1\"<\/p>\n

Now it’s easy to divide fractions. Just let opposites do the work!<\/p>\n

\"oppositemath\"<\/p>\n

\"1707a-150x150\"<\/a>If you want some excellent help teaching math facts, take a look at Math It<\/a>, my very favorite “math facts” product. It gives children a reason and memory clues, rather than just requiring rote memorization of the addition and multiplication facts. Great stuff!<\/p>\n

Have a good math day!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

May I recommend:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n

\"homeschooling_0313_DSCF0022_3-150x150\"
\nIndispensable Math Facts
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\"masteringgreaterthan3\"
\nMastering “Greater than” and “Less than”
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

\"1105\"
\nMuggins
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hot . . . Cold Wet . . . Dry New . . . Old Open . . . Shut Children can grasp the idea of opposites at a young age. If you take advantage of this concept when teaching math, it cuts your work in half! Instead of teaching subtraction, teach “opposite addition”. If […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[21,9],"tags":[79],"class_list":["post-501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-math-articles","category-what-articles","tag-math-tricks","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Screen-Shot-2015-07-09-at-11.42.21-PM.png?fit=155%2C85&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6IrRN-85","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1146,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/memorizing-the-times-tables\/","url_meta":{"origin":501,"position":0},"title":"Memorizing the Times Tables","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My 11-year-old boy is still trying to memorize his times tables. He's finally gotten his 5's and 9's (and of course 0's, 1's and 2's) but the rest seem to be hard for him. I'm wondering what we can do without spending much. Answer: How frustrating for both of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Math"","block_context":{"text":"Math","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/math-articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"My grandson Isaac","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/isaac-swing-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":729,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/indispensable-math-facts\/","url_meta":{"origin":501,"position":1},"title":"Indispensable Math Facts","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Math facts! Those stalwart, foundational facts that carry us through our lives, making us able compute things in our head at the grocery store and figure out the cost of a tank of gas. We need them! Our kids need them! Let's give it our best to teach them to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Math"","block_context":{"text":"Math","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/math-articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/69.195.124.81\/~homescp3\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/homeschooling_0313_DSCF0022_3.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":704,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/times-tables-fun\/","url_meta":{"origin":501,"position":2},"title":"Times Tables Fun","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Mastering the math facts is one of the journeys and victories of childhood. The sooner they are learned to the \"automatic-response\" stage, the better! All math that follows requires the basic addition and mulitiplication facts. One mathematics professor at the university said that most of the problems his Calculus students\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Math"","block_context":{"text":"Math","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/math-articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"timestablesfun1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/timestablesfun1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":716,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/eyewitness-to-dumbing-down\/","url_meta":{"origin":501,"position":3},"title":"Eyewitness to Dumbing Down","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Uh Oh!\u00a0We're in trouble! We run a educational bookstore business, and we often hire employees to help us. Usually these are college students. Recently we decided to give a simple math test to our potential employees as a way to screen out those who may make costly computation errors\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Math"","block_context":{"text":"Math","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/math-articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/people-316506_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/people-316506_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/people-316506_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/people-316506_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/people-316506_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":943,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/greater-than-less-than\/","url_meta":{"origin":501,"position":4},"title":"Mastering \u201cGreater Than\u201d and \u201cLess Than\u201d","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is an easy way to teach your children how to remember the \u201cgreater than\u201d and \u201cless than\u201d symbols in their Math lesson! \u00a0 First, draw one of the symbols, \u00a0like this: \u00a0 Now, make that symbol into a big fish\u2019s mouth like this: \u00a0 The fish has a BIG\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Math"","block_context":{"text":"Math","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/math-articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/masteringgreaterthan3.jpg?fit=360%2C316&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1215,"url":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/hates-math\/","url_meta":{"origin":501,"position":5},"title":"Hates Math","author":"Diane Hopkins","date":"","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I homeschool my three girls. My oldest is 9 and works 2 grades ahead, and works independently. My middle child, 7, is advanced and just as intelligent. She absolutely hates sitting and doing worksheets, especially in Math. I am getting extremely frustrated and this in turn frustrates her. Neither\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Math"","block_context":{"text":"Math","link":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/category\/what-articles\/math-articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/69.195.124.81\/~homescp3\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/rachel_lilies.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7320,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501\/revisions\/7320"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/happyhomeschooling.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}