Ok, so here I am...and this is my two cents (after teaching math in 4th, 6th, and 7th)...When Meems wrote this:
i found an example
35 x 2 = (30 x 2) + (5 x 2) = 60 + 10 = 70
The example makes sense to me but I'm still stumped.
That is what they are talking about. Teaching it in fourth grade isn't as much about starting to teach algebra. Like someone posted earlier, it's about giving another method to reach the answer. While this method may seem foreign to us, math is taught/learned very differently now than it was when we were in school. Research has shown that some children are successful with alternative strategies like this one. After teaching this strategy, it does become a bit easier to use for carrying out problems in my head. With this strategy I don't have to think about "carrying" or where the zero goes in the answer. As long as I know basic facts and addition, I can solve the problem.
Math is so different than when I was in school, but that's not necessarily bad. The reason they probably didn't focus too much on it was b/c it's just another strategy. In my classroom, as well as the other classrooms in my district, it's about finding a strategy that works for you.
That all being said, it is insanely helpful if 4th graders have some idea of this when it comes to algebra.
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