EASTON, PA—“Over the years, First In Math assessment data verifies that subtraction is one of the more difficult operations to master, compared to addition, multiplication and division,” says First In Math creator Robert Sun.
Ask any math teacher, and they will tell you that students find subtraction much more difficult than addition or even multiplication.
“Generally, subtraction facts are harder for children to learn than addition facts,” explains Sun. “I believe that the earlier a child learns the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction the better.” Sun says that students usually find themselves either counting up or counting backward to solve subtraction problems, which is not an efficient process.
“We have addressed this issue by creating new subtraction games. Two are subtraction versions of existing games, First In Tens Subtract and First To Twenty Subtract. A completely new Bonus 2 game, Touchdown 100 Subtract is the complement to the new Touchdown 100 Add game.”
The new subtraction games help students to not only internalize subtraction facts, but also visualize the process of subtracting—sometimes referred to as taking away.
According to Sun, the new subtraction games on the First In Math website are a great way for young, or even remedial, students to practice and internalize subtraction facts with the goal of making students’ knowledge of subtraction facts automatic. “Once kids have a grasp of the general concept of subtraction, these games focus on building their accuracy and speed through Deep Practice.”
Support for the new games has been strong right out of the box. “I support these new games 100%,” says two-time FIM Team Leader Player National Champ Matt Morse. “The more practice students can get with subtraction the better.”
The new subtraction games, like more than 70 games/modules presently on the First In Math site, are iPad-compatible.