Have you heard your first grader talking about "touch points"? This is a great trick to use when adding and subtracting. It's more accurate, quick and efficient than counting up answers on your fingers. I have been trying to discourage the kids from relying so much on their finger digits this year. I call em' their hot dog fingers. I'll yell, "put dem' hot dogs away! I wanna see touch points". The kids are about to move into some BIGGER math concepts next year and they will be ready if they learn this little computation trick.
It's super easy! Look at the poster above. You notice that each number has a series of dots. These are called the touch points. The number four has 4 touch points. The number seven has 7 touch points. You get the idea. When presented with a math problem you should simply SAY the bigger of the two numbers and then tap out the touch points to add the smaller number. Do not hit the touch points for both numbers. That's a waste of time. So, if I were asked what 8+5 was....I would say "eight" and then tap/count the touch points for the number five.
One through Five are pretty easy. You just tap the touch points as you count on. There's a trick though when you get to the higher numbers. You see that some of the numbers have a dot with a ring around it. (6, 7, 8, and 9) For these, you simply tap that spot two times.
I recommend putting in some extra practice at home on this concept. Maybe practice the number that our timed test is going to be over on Friday. The kids who are using these are doing much better on their timed tests than the students who are still trying to count on their fingers. They are quicker and they make fewer mistakes. I also hear the same thing from 2nd grade teachers. They want students who know their touch points. When they start doing longer math, the skill of "computation" needs to be quick and easy.
