All posts by Smartick

Content Creation Team. A multidisciplinary and multicultural team made up of mathematicians, teachers, professors and other education professionals! They strive to create the best math content possible.

May06

Using Money to Help Learn Decimal Numbers

Today’s post deals with the day to day use of decimal numbers using money as an example (and to help you better understand it). We are going to start with the basics, reviewing what decimal numbers are and how to read and write them. You can use these resources to refresh your memory: What are […]

Apr29

Multiplication of Fractions with an Area Model

In today’s post, we are going to see how to use an area model to solve a multiplication problem with fractions. This methodological strategy is very effective to show our students an operation that is very complicated to visualize. Teachers usually make an effort to support their explanations with manipulatives and visuals, because if they […]

Apr22

How to Calculate the Least Common Multiple Using a 100 Square

In a previous post, we learned what a 100 square was and how to visualize and know the multiples of a number on it. If you have not read the post I would recommend that you do so before continuing, and if you don’t know what the least common multiple is, check out this post. […]

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Apr08

The Concept of Length and How It’s Different from Distance

In today’s post, we will be talking about the magnitude of length and its difference to distance, as well as how both concepts are integrated into knowledge at young ages. Before anything, we should ask ourselves if we really know the meaning of these concepts: What is a magnitude? What is the magnitude length? What […]

Apr01

Teaching Principles and Learning Phases of Singapore Math

In this post, we will return to the topic of Singapore math and analyze the curriculum. We will describe the three teaching principles used and the three learning phases that occur in their classrooms. Teaching Principles of Singapore Math Teaching is for learning, learning is for comprehension, comprehension is for reasoning, application, and finally, to […]

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Mar25

Roman Numerals: Do You Know How to Add Them?

In this entry, we are going to learn to complete operations with Roman numerals. It is important to refresh our knowledge about these numbers before we begin. Are you ready? Let’s continue… The Roman numeral system is very different from the decimal system that we use on a daily basis. Look closely at the numbers […]

Mar18

Subtraction with Borrowing: An Explanation of Two Different Algorithms

The pedagogical and parents customer service team at Smartick often receive questions from parents whose children have said they are confused because at school they learn subtraction one way and Smartick teaches them another. At Smartick we feel that the use of one algorithm or another doesn’t matter, what’s important is that it is explained […]

Mar11

Tens and the Decimal Number System

Let’s begin this post by defining tens. A ten is a group of ten units. It is the most natural number in our body through the fingers on our hands. If we count them one by one, we can see that we have ten fingers (units), which is the same as saying we have a ten […]

Mar04

Problems with Fractions and How to Solve Them

In this post, we are going to give you some guidelines and advice for confronting problems with fractions. Problems with fractions, in no time! Fortywinklesburg is an imaginary kingdom where all of its inhabitants have a peculiar habit: they sleep for days without waking up. The Winklean’s, as they are called, sleep for so long […]

Feb25

Pedagogical Justification of the Commutative Property

In this post, we are going to justify, in a pedagogical sense, the conceptual base of the commutative property and it’s most basic and practical applications. The first thing we need to do is review the concept of the commutative property. For this I have linked some older blog posts about this topic: Applying the […]

Feb18

How to Support Learning Mathematics for 4 Year Olds

Mathematics forms a part of our life practically from the time that we are born. From the time we are very young, without evening realizing, we participate in all types of activities that aid in the development and construction of mathematical thinking. “Humans are born with the fundamental sense of quantity.” – James Geary Presenting […]

Feb11

Rule of Three for Calculating Percentages

In earlier posts, we have learned what a percent is and how to calculate it. Today we are going to use the rule of three to solve different types of problems related to percentages. Rule of three to calculate the percentage of a number For example, we want to calculate 30% of 360. 30% means […]