Math Negatives 06 Addition and Subtraction also called Directed Numbers Mostly for Years/Grade 7, 8 and 9

This is where students more commonly have problems with calculations using negative numbers.Show more

Over my years of teaching I spend much time building student confidence with ‘negative numbers’, because so many people struggle with the concepts. I have continued to think 'How can I make this easier for students?'. These videos start very simple and progressively work through the basics and I keep reminding myself not to go too difficult too quickly.

By the way, many older students and adults still struggle with these concepts. I would love to hear from adults who were helped while watching these videos with their child. Maths is so easily 'lost' from the brain without use.

I recommend that students watch one of these short videos per day to give themselves time to consolidate the ideas. To start with, I take a slightly different approach, which I have especially found helpful for weaker students. I used to teach these concepts as ‘4 rules’, but for years, I have taught them as ‘1 rule’, and the difference in student response is massive. I also build repetition into the videos.

From my experience, the biggest secret is to watch each video 3 times across a week or more (which very few people do with anything, not just Maths). I have tried to make this easier by keeping these videos quite brief.

After 40 years of enjoyable and rewarding teaching, I still love and continue to teach. It still amazes me how I continue to still think of better ways of teaching mathematical concepts and I also continue to discover methods of explaining things that help students 'better' understand and become more successful at remembering the concepts.

A word of warning from what I have repeatedly seen over the years - most of my videos are placed in a logical or reasonably sequential order and if you watch the first or second video in a playlist and feel comfortable with the concepts, please go to the last video in the playlist to check if you really are okay. Each video in a playlist usually becomes progressively more complex and the 'latter' or 'last' video will often contain common assessment questions where students are known to make errors.

I also often include some revision / consolidation / mixture videos in the playlist which I know are crucial to assist with student success in assessments.

I hope that you find this very helpful and a blessing in your studies.