Flexible Brains: How to flexibly subtract (+Freebie)
“All roads lead to Rome.” , “There is more than one way to skin a cat.”, Google Maps’ alternate routes and subtraction. What is a twelfth-century proverb and math doing, sharing space on the screen?
We have options getting to the places we love most: walking, cycling, interstate-driving, publicly transporting, or back road cruising, then why can’t it be so in subtraction?
Flexibility over-and-above rigidity
How easy is it for our kids to be tense, terse, and armored in integer operations? Has that stiffness been enforced in our classrooms?
What if our developing mathematical mind was invited to:
- Pliability with numbers
- Curiosity
- Freedom
- Exploration
Who doesn’t want that for their kid?!?
Read that one more time.
Related: Watch Jo Boaler’s Creative, Flexible, Mathematics talk.
Interact with numbers flexibly
Perhaps they have a variety of learning differences. In today’s video, Math Specialist, Amy invites learners to play, mold, explore, and think about numbers differently. The topic happens to be 25 minus 19, but the flexibility-mindset spans all mathematical kingdoms! “All roads lead to Rome.”
Step in the direction of flexibly subtracting with today’s video.
Watch the Video
MFM Authors
Matthew Lyda
Multisensory Math Specialist
Matthew is a Blue Belt in Shotokan Karate, a happy husband, wilderness lover, drummer, and a voracious reader! He works with students one:one as well as in group classes.
Amy Anderson
Multisensory Math Specialist; VP of Grades 7-12
Amy is a certified teacher with a Masters in Education and a Bachelor of Arts. She enjoys photographing the Pacific Northwest landscapes, walking her dog, rock climbing, and searching for humpback whales. She works with students one:one as well in group classes.