This is a video about helping parents explain Maths. It’s also a cool video your child can watch alone to learn how to draw bar models to solve Maths word problems or story problems. (They call bar models ‘thinking blocks’ in the video but the drawings are the same.)
The video is a good example of teaching Maths without using too many words, especially if your child has any language-based learning difficulties such as ASD or SLI.
For example,you can see how usful colours can be in teaching! It illustrates the steps, making it easier to understand and also just makes the whole exercise more appealing.
While using colours are great for you as a parent or teacher, you can try it out and see if your child can actually use colours by himself while attempting the problem.
For some children, it’s a great way to help them to think step by step. For some children with language-based learning difficulties, they may already be struggling with the reading, or processing the meaning behind the words they read. You don’t have to insist that they use colours too because it may just add more processing load for the brain.
For your convenience, you can go directly to the interactive problem solving site.
How do the bar models or thinking blocks and use of colours work for your child? Do you encounter difficulties while using them in teaching your child? Is the above site useful? Please share a comment. Thank you.
Try it out and let us know if you find it useful.