Mental counting: how to learn to count in your mind. Mental counting in mathematics lessons Mental counting in art

Why count in the mind, if you can solve any arithmetic problem on a calculator. modern medicine and psychology prove that mental counting is an exercise for gray cells. Performing such gymnastics is necessary for the development of memory and mathematical abilities.

There are many tricks to simplify mental calculations. Everyone who has seen the famous painting by Bogdanov-Belsky "Mental Account" is always surprised - how do peasant children solve such a difficult task as dividing the sum of five numbers that must first be squared?

It turns out that these children are students of the famous teacher-mathematician Sergei Alexandrovich Rachitsky (he is also depicted in the picture). These are not geeks - students primary school village school of the 19th century. But they all already know how to simplify arithmetic calculations and have learned the multiplication table! Therefore, it is quite possible for these kids to solve such a problem!

Secrets of mental counting

There are methods of oral counting - simple algorithms that it is desirable to bring to automatism. After mastering simple techniques, you can move on to mastering more complex ones.

We add the numbers 7,8,9

To simplify the calculations, the numbers 7,8,9 must first be rounded up to 10, and then subtract the increase. For example, to add 9 to a two-digit number, you must first add 10 and then subtract 1, and so on.

Examples :

Add two digit numbers quickly

If the last digit of a two-digit number is greater than five, round it up. We perform the addition, subtract the “additive” from the resulting amount.

Examples :

54+39=54+40-1=93

26+38=26+40-2=64

If the last digit of a two-digit number is less than five, then add up by digits: first add tens, then ones.

Example :

57+32=57+30+2=89

If the terms are reversed, then you can first round the number 57 to 60, and then subtract 3 from the total:

32+57=32+60-3=89

Adding three-digit numbers in your mind

Quick counting and addition of three-digit numbers - is it possible? Yes. To do this, you need to parse three-digit numbers into hundreds, tens, units and add them one by one.

Example :

249+533=(200+500)+(40+30)+(9+3)=782

Subtraction features: reduction to round numbers

Subtracted are rounded up to 10, up to 100. If you need to subtract a two-digit number, you need to round it up to 100, subtract, and then add an amendment to the remainder. This is true if the correction is small.

Examples :

576-88=576-100+12=488

Mind subtracting three-digit numbers

If at one time the composition of numbers from 1 to 10 was well mastered, then subtraction can be done in parts and in the indicated order: hundreds, tens, units.

Example :

843-596=843-500-90-6=343-90-6=253-6=247

Multiply and Divide

Instantly multiply and divide in your mind? It is possible, but one cannot do without knowledge of the multiplication table. is the golden key to quick mental counting! It applies to both multiplication and division. Recall that in the elementary grades of a village school in the pre-revolutionary Smolensk province (the painting "Mental Counting"), children knew the continuation of the multiplication table - from 11 to 19!

Although in my opinion it is enough to know the table from 1 to 10 in order to be able to multiply larger numbers. For example:

15*16=15*10+(10*6+5*6)=150+60+30=240

Multiply and divide by 4, 6, 8, 9

Having mastered the multiplication table for 2 and 3 to automatism, making the rest of the calculations will be as easy as shelling pears.

For multiplication and division of two- and three-digit numbers, we use simple tricks:

    multiplying by 4 is twice multiplying by 2;

    to multiply by 6 means to multiply by 2 and then by 3;

    multiplying by 8 is three times multiplying by 2;

    multiplying by 9 is twice multiplying by 3.

For example :

37*4=(37*2)*2=74*2=148;

412*6=(412*2) 3=824 3=2472

Similarly:

    divided by 4 is twice divided by 2;

    divide by 6 is first divide by 2 and then by 3;

    divided by 8 is three times divided by 2;

    Divide by 9 is twice divided by 3.

For example :

412:4=(412:2):2=206:2=103

312:6=(312:2):3=156:3=52

How to multiply and divide by 5

The number 5 is half of 10 (10:2). Therefore, we first multiply by 10, then we divide the result in half.

Example :

326*5=(326*10):2=3260:2=1630

Yet easier rule division by 5. First, multiply by 2, and then divide by 10.

326:5=(326 2):10=652:10=65.2.

Multiply by 9

To multiply a number by 9, it is not necessary to multiply it twice by 3. It is enough to multiply it by 10 and subtract the multiplied number from the resulting number. Compare which is faster:

37*9=(37*3)*3=111*3=333

37*9=37*10 - 37=370-37=333

Also, particular patterns have long been noticed that greatly simplify the multiplication of two-digit numbers by 11 or by 101. So, when multiplied by 11, a two-digit number seems to move apart. The numbers that make it up remain at the edges, and their sum is in the center. For example: 24*11=264. When multiplying by 101, it is enough to attribute the same to a two-digit number. 24*101= 2424. The simplicity and logic of such examples is admirable. Such tasks are very rare - these are entertaining examples, the so-called little tricks.

Counting on fingers

Today you can still meet many defenders of "finger gymnastics" and the method of mental counting on the fingers. We are convinced that learning to add and subtract by bending and unbending fingers is very visual and convenient. The range of such calculations is very limited. As soon as the calculations go beyond one operation, difficulties arise: it is necessary to master the next technique. Yes, and bending your fingers in the era of iPhones is somehow undignified.

For example, in defense of the "finger" technique, the technique of multiplying by 9 is given. The trick of the technique is as follows:

  • To multiply any number within the first ten by 9, you need to turn your palms towards you.
  • Counting from left to right, bend the finger corresponding to the number being multiplied. For example, to multiply 5 by 9, you need to bend the little finger on your left hand.
  • The remaining number of fingers on the left will correspond to tens, on the right - units. In our example - 4 fingers on the left and 5 on the right. Answer: 45.

Yes, indeed, the solution is quick and visual! But this is from the field of tricks. The rule only works when multiplying by 9. Isn't it easier to learn the multiplication table to multiply 5 by 9? This trick will be forgotten, and a well-learned multiplication table will remain forever.

There are also many more similar tricks using fingers for some single mathematical operations, but this is relevant while you use it and is immediately forgotten when you stop using it. Therefore, it is better to learn standard algorithms that will remain for life.

Oral account on the machine

    First, you need to know the composition of the number and the multiplication table well.

    Secondly, you need to remember the methods of simplifying calculations. As it turned out, there are not so many such mathematical algorithms.

    Thirdly, in order for the technique to turn into a convenient skill, it is necessary to constantly conduct brief “brainstorming sessions” - to practice oral calculations using one or another algorithm.

Workouts should be short: mentally solve 3-4 examples using the same technique, then move on to the next one. We must strive to use every free minute - and useful, and not boring. Thanks to simple training, all calculations over time will be done at lightning speed and without errors. This is very useful in life and will help out in difficult situations.

This article was written by me several years ago for a tutoring site. When posting, the site administrator misrepresented not only my last name, but also the purpose of my article. I intended it for schoolchildren, and the administrator of that site redirected it to .... beginner tutors, with the title "What calculations does a math tutor do in her head?" At the same time, the ceiling of the mental calculation indicated by him in his article on this topic is reduced only to calculating in the mind the multiplication of a two-digit number by a single-digit one. He writes: "Let's say it's 29x7. The "soundtrack" from the tutor could be the following:" 29 is twenty and 9. Twenty by 7 will be .... (student answers 14), and 9 by 7 will be .... (student answers 63) One hundred and forty and sixty-three will be ... "" Not only is there an error in this text (Twenty by seven will be 140, not 14) - you need to check, read what is written (!!!), not only is thirty much more convenient multiply by seven and subtract seven, so this technique in the article of that tutor is the only one (????) in the matter of mental counting.
What happens? Are fast mental counting skills superfluous for schoolchildren and only tutors can use them? But no! In my classes, I always welcome when a student strives to count in his mind. Yes, this is usually not taught in school. But as experience shows, every schoolchild can use the skills of quick oral counting if desired. And this in itself is useful, because it allows you to "feel" the numbers and understand how much can be obtained by multiplication, and how much cannot. It is only important to learn to think a little differently than they teach in school. And after all, these techniques can be useful to a student throughout the entire school curriculum, and at exams, where, as you know, it is not allowed to use a calculator.
For example, you need to subtract 9487 from 11531. How do they teach at school? It is necessary to write a column, while constantly occupying, counting the difference. Meanwhile, if you borrow several times, you can easily make a mistake where you borrowed and where you didn’t. And you can calculate it in your mind in a completely different way, without even thinking in a column. It can be seen that in the minuend, the numbers are mostly small, and in the subtrahend, mostly large. Then we consider in this way: How much more is 11531 than 11000? - By 531. How much is 9487 less than 10000? - At 513. Between 11,000 and 10,000 is one thousand.

11531 – 9487 = 11000 + 531 – (10000 – 513) = 11000 – 10000 + 531 + 513 = 2044
This technique is most conveniently remembered with the help of a picture:

Now let's look at a more complicated example - multiplication. How much will 64 * 15 be? What is 15? 15 is 1.5 * 10. How is a number multiplied by 1.5, i.e. for one and a half? To do this, you need to add half of itself to this number. If the example does not include 1.5, but 15, or 150, then a certain number of zeros must also be added to the right. Thus, 64 plus half of this number, that is, we attribute 32 and zero.
That is, 64 + 32 = 96; 96 * 10 = 960.

64 * 15 = 64 * 1,5 * 10 = (64 + 32) * 10 = 960

Now multiply 84 by 25. A similar example, but in this case you can calculate different ways. You can think of 25 as 2.5 * 10. In other words, take 84 twice and add 42 to the result, and then multiply by 10.

84 * 25 = (84 + 84 + 42) * 10 = 2100
And assign zero. And it is possible in another way. 84 * 0.25 * 100. That is, we break 25 into 0.25 and 100. Why do we need this? The fact is that 0.25 is ¼ (one fourth). In other words, we divide 84 by 4, we get 21, and we assign two zeros. It turns out the same 2100:

84 * 25 = 84 * 0,25 * 100 = 84: 4 * 100 = 2100
It may seem that such techniques can hardly be needed at school, which in school curriculum there are only examples of type 29x7. Meanwhile, some textbooks are full of examples that involve the use of fast counting methods, it is only important to be able to recognize these methods. It is important to note in this connection that in the textbooks of the 6th grade there are often tasks "Calculate in the most rational way", and in the textbooks of the next grades such tasks are usually absent. This does not mean that such methods should be forgotten in high school. Here is an example from a real class with an 8th grade student. He met in one task
375 * 48. It would seem that you can multiply three-digit numbers by two-digit numbers only in a column. But the result of multiplying these two numbers is easier to get mentally. What is 375?
- That's 125 * 3. The number 125 is 0.125 * 1000 (one-eighth times a thousand). Therefore, we turn 375 into 0.375 (three eighths) * 1000. We get

48 * 375 = 48 * 0,375 * 1000 = 48 * 3: 8 * 1000 = 48: 8 * 3 * 1000 = 18000
Knowing this technique, all actions are obtained automatically in the mind and the student can be sure that he did not make a mistake anywhere. Whereas when counting in a column, where in fact it is necessary to perform several actions, the probability of error is much greater.
For a quick mental calculation, it’s good to know by heart not only the multiplication table, but also the table of squares, at least up to thirty. Practice shows that this is relatively easy, and there are schoolchildren with such knowledge. In addition, this knowledge sometimes allows not only to square, but also to count in the mind examples like 39 * 26, using the decomposition technique into "known" factors. It is easy to see that 39 is 13 * 3,
and 26 is 13 * 2. Knowing by heart that 13 * 13 = 169, only 169 * 6 remains. 170 * 6 will be 170 * 3 * 2 = 1020 and minus 6, it turns out 1014.

39 * 26 = 3 * 13 * 2 * 13 = 169 * 6 = 170 * 6 – 6 = 1014

By the way, about the table of squares. Yes, the table of squares is published on the flyleaf of textbooks, it is published in collections for preparing for exams, it is allowed to be used in the exam. It turns out that it is not necessary to know the table of squares by heart. However, before the revolution, when there were no calculators and computers, schoolchildren, at least in the Rachinsky school (the artist N.P. Bogdanov-Belsky has a painting "Mental Counting", reminiscent of this), were able to square numbers up to 100 in mind. Not in a column, but in the mind. How did they do it? It would seem that the process is rather time-consuming, even if, for example, the abbreviated multiplication formulas are used. Indeed, let's take, for example, the number 96 and square it using the formula for the square of the sum (90 + 6) 2 . Three terms are obtained, which are sometimes inconvenient to add up. It is even less convenient if we take the formula for the square of the difference (100 - 4) 2 . However, there is a simpler trick, but for now it’s worth making a digression and talking about abbreviated multiplication formulas. Curiously, in the school curriculum, these formulas are used in various sections of mathematics - from algebraic fractions to trigonometric transformations, but not for quick multiplication of numbers. Only with a direct study of the topic are several examples given with the help of these formulas, and such tasks are found at entrance exams to lyceums. Why? Yes, because it is not very convenient to make calculations in the mind using these formulas, and the methods are not universal. Of course, in some cases, these formulas can be used for a quick calculation. This is especially true for the difference of squares formula. Indeed, if you need to multiply 37 by 43, 26 by 32, 35 by 25, etc. (if the difference between the numbers is even), then the difference of squares formula can achieve a quick result, although this again requires knowing the table of squares (37 * 43 \u003d (40 - 3) * (40 + 3) \u003d 1600 - 9 \u003d 1591; 26 * 32 \u003d (29 - 3) * (29 + 3) \u003d 841 - 9 \u003d 832;
35 * 25 = (30 + 5) * (30 - 5) = 900 - 25 = 875). Another way of squaring is more convenient than using abbreviated multiplication formulas. For example, let's take the same number 96 squared.
First, let's look at the rule for quickly squaring numbers ending in 5. For example, 25 squared, 35 squared, 45 squared, 95 squared. The rule is. To do this, multiply the number of tens of the squared number (for example, 9 in 95) by a number that is one more (that is, 10 in the case of 95) and assign 25. It turns out 9025. Let's calculate in this way, for example 85 2:

85 2 = 8 * 9 * 100 + 25 = 7225
(we multiply by 100 because the product 8 * 9 gives us the first two digits of the final result).
I won’t comment on why it turns out this way within the framework of this article, I will only note that this rule also applies to three-digit numbers, which has become common, for example, at the OGE, and in the opposite direction - in the form of extracting an arithmetic square root of a five-digit number ending in...25. In all likelihood, the compilers of the assignments began to take into account that the table of squares published everywhere includes squaring only two-digit numbers, and it is necessary to check schoolchildren with something that goes beyond this table. In fairness, it must be said that in schools, some teachers introduce students to this technique. Although it is usually not said that with its help you can easily get the result of squaring any number from the table. How it's done? Among the numbers that are squared, there is a so-called. "base" numbers. These are, firstly, 10, 20, 30, 40, .... 90 and, secondly, 15, 25, 35 ... 95. These are the numbers that are very easy to square. Now we take the number 96 and square it. To do this, add 95 and 96 to 9025. Add 200 and subtract (5 + 4 are numbers that complement 95 and 96 to 100). We write the result - 9216. Why is that?

96 * 96 = (95 + 1) * 96 = 95 * 96 + 1 * 96 = 95 * (95 + 1) + 1 * 96 = 95 * 95 + 95 + 96 = 9216.
In a similar way, with appropriate training, you can square any number from the table of squares, up to showing tricks of fast counting or phenomenal memory in front of classmates. For those who are still so afraid big numbers, the principle of action can be explained in simple example. 4 squared. This will be 16. Now let's square 5. This will be 25. Knowing 4 squared, the result of the next squared number is obtained by adding the sum of the squared numbers to the previous one. For example, 5 squared is 4 squared + 5 + 4 (i.e. 16 + 9).
A student who has become proficient in applying these methods of rapid mental counting may well come up with his own methods, carefully peering into the numbers and find their own patterns in them. As experience shows, this desire teaches him not to make mistakes in counting, and the search for his own methods instills in him an interest in the subject, allows him to be creative in his study and find something of his own in it. Some schoolchildren tend to show off such skills in front of their classmates, or even completely pro-demon-stri-ro-vat "trick" by counting large numbers in their minds. This is to be welcomed, although not in all schools teachers believe that students can calculate something in their minds, and not on a calculator. In my memory, there is a completely anecdotal case from the series “you can’t think of it on purpose”, when a student in the 5th grade wrote: 22 + 33 = 55. It would seem that what is wrong here? But the teacher crossed it out for him, offering to rewrite the same thing ... in a column. Instead of teaching children to count in their heads, sometimes there are "incredulous" teachers who believe that if the column is not written, it means that the student counted with a calculator.
In individual lessons with a math tutor, it can be useful to pay attention to the study of fast mental counting techniques.

© Alexander Mirov, math tutor, Moscow

This CME is now dedicated to Science What we call mathematics with love. It will help to bring up Such accuracy of thought, To know everything in our life, Measure and calculate. Find the essential. Sum (minus, plus, equality, term, divisor). Geometry (figure, point, properties, theorem, equation). 2. Verification of definitions. Having given a definition to a particular concept, you must be sure that it is true. Correctness can be checked by interchanging the condition and conclusion in the definition. If the sentence remains true when changing places, then the definition is given by us correctly. Check the correctness of the definitions: A square is a quadrilateral. Addition is a mathematical operation. 3. Name a group of numbers in one word: a) 2, 4, 7, 9, 6; 6) 13,18,25,33,48,57. 1. 1. Find the essential. Triangle (plane, vertex, center, side, perpendicular). Difference (subtraction, plus, minus, sum, term). 2. Verification of definitions. The circle is geometric figure. An even number is a natural number. 3. Name a group of numbers in one word: a) 2, 4, 8.12, 44, 56; b) 1, 13.77.83.95. The first letter is in the word "marmot", but it is not in the word "lesson". And then think about it and a short word Among the smart guys you will find from anyone. Take two letters from your mother without embarrassment, But in general you will get the result from addition. The preposition is at my beginning, At the end is a country house. And we all decided the whole Both at the blackboard and at the table. At the beginning of the word - an oral account, Then the consonant sound comes. Hard hair of animals then, But in general we will find the result. Game "Compositor" Mother centipede bought boots for three daughters. How many pairs of boots did Mom have to buy? To find his bride, the prince forced his soldiers to bypass 12 settlements. Each of them had 40 girls. How many girls tried on the shoe in total? How to write the number 100 in five units? The hare had 4 sons and a sweet daughter. One day he brought home a bag of 60 apples. How many apples did each of the rabbits get if the hare divided them equally between them? The brave tailor killed 7 flies with one blow. How many flies did he kill in total if he hit 11? The children went for a walk with their dogs. One grandfather tells them: “Look, guys, don’t lose your heads and don’t break your legs.” One boy said, "We only have 36 legs and 13 heads, so we won't get lost." How many dogs and how many boys? A) One egg is boiled for 10 minutes. How long will it take to cook 2 eggs? B) The hare had 4 sons and a sweet daughter. Once he brought home a bag of 60 apples. How many apples did each of the rabbits get if the hare divided them equally between them. A) When a cat stands on 2 legs, it weighs 5 kg. How much will it weigh if it stands on 4 legs. B) There were 36 jackdaws sitting on three trees. When 6 jackdaws flew from the first tree to the second, and 4 jackdaws flew from the second to the third, then there were equal numbers of jackdaws on all three trees. How many jackdaws originally sat on each tree?

The mental counting process

The process of mental counting can be considered as a counting technology that combines human ideas and skills about numbers, mathematical algorithms of arithmetic.

There are three types mental arithmetic technologies that use different physical abilities person:

  • audio motor counting technology;
  • visual counting technology.

characteristic feature audiomotor mental counting is to accompany each action and each number with a verbal phrase like "twice two - four." The traditional counting system is precisely the audio-motor technology. The disadvantages of the audio-motor method of conducting calculations are:

  • the absence in the memorized phrase of relationships with neighboring results,
  • the impossibility to separate tens and units of the product in phrases about the multiplication table without repeating the entire phrase;
  • the inability to reverse the phrase from the answer to factors, which is important for performing division with a remainder;
  • slow playback speed of a verbal phrase.

Supercomputers, demonstrating high speeds of thinking, use their visual abilities and excellent visual memory. People who are proficient in speed calculations do not use words in the process of solving. arithmetic example in the mind. They show reality visual technology of mental counting, devoid of the main drawback - the slow speed of performing elementary operations with numbers.

Mental arithmetic in elementary school

The development of mental counting skills occupies a special place in elementary school and is one of the main tasks of teaching mathematics at this stage. It is in the first years of training that the main methods of oral calculations are laid, which activate the mental activity of students, develop memory, speech, the ability to perceive what is said by ear in children, increase attention and speed of reaction.

Simulators for mental counting

In system subjects mathematics belongs special role. It equips students with the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities that are used in the study of other school subjects, especially in the study of geometry, algebra, physics and computer science. When studying this subject, students require a lot of strong-willed and mental efforts, developed imagination, concentration of attention, mathematics develops the personality of the student. In addition, the study of mathematics significantly contributes to the development logical thinking and broaden the horizons of students.

Mathematics is one of the most important sciences on earth and it is with it that a person meets every day in his life. That is why the teacher needs to develop in children an interest in this science, subject. In my opinion, it is possible to develop a cognitive interest in mathematics by using various kinds oral counting, and involving students in the preparation and conduct of this stage of the lesson and the lesson as a whole.

Oral counting in mathematics lessons can be represented by various forms of work with the class, students (mathematical, arithmetic and graphic dictations, mathematical lotto, rebuses, crossword puzzles, tests, conversations, surveys, warm-ups, "circular" examples and much more). It includes algebraic and geometric material, solving simple problems and tasks with ingenuity, discusses the properties of actions on numbers and quantities, and other issues, with the help of mental counting, you can create a problem situation, etc.

Oral counting is not a random stage of the lesson, it is in a methodical connection with the main topic and is of a problematic nature.

To achieve the correctness and fluency of oral calculations in each lesson of mathematics, 5-10 minutes are allotted for exercises in oral calculations.
Oral counting activates the mental activity of students. When they are performed, memory, speech, attention, the ability to perceive what is said by ear, speed of reaction are activated, develop.

This stage is an integral part in the structure of the mathematics lesson. It helps the teacher, firstly, to switch the student from one activity to another, secondly, to prepare students for studying a new topic, thirdly, tasks for repeating and summarizing the material covered can be included in the oral account, fourthly, it increases the intelligence of the students.

Goals At this stage of the lesson, you can define the following:

1) achievement of the set goals of the lesson;
2) development of computational skills;
3) development of mathematical culture, speech;
4) the ability to generalize and systematize, to transfer the acquired knowledge to new tasks.

Since oral exercises or mental counting is a stage of the lesson, it has its own tasks:

1. Reproduction and correction of certain knowledge, skills and abilities of students necessary for their independent activity in the lesson or conscious perception of the teacher's explanation.
2. The teacher's control over the state of knowledge of students.
3. Psychological preparation of students for the perception of new material.
4. Increasing cognitive interest.

When conducting oral counting, each teacher adheres to the following requirements:

  • Exercises for mental counting are not chosen randomly, but purposefully.
  • Tasks should be varied, the proposed tasks should not be easy, but they should not be “cumbersome”.
  • Texts of exercises, drawings and notes, if required, should be prepared in advance.
  • All students should be involved in oral counting.
  • When conducting an oral account, evaluation criteria (encouragement) should be thought out.

An oral account can be built in the following form:

  • Tasks for the development and improvement of attention. Such as: find a pattern and solve an example, continue the series.
  • Tasks for development of perception, spatial imagination. For example, draw an ornament, a pattern; count how many lines.
  • Tasks for the development of observation (find a pattern, what is superfluous?)
  • Oral exercises using didactic games.

Oral calculation skills are formed in the process of students performing various exercises. Consider their main types:

1) Finding the values ​​of mathematical expressions.

A mathematical expression is proposed in one form or another, it is required to find its value. These exercises have many variations. You can offer numerical mathematical expressions and alphabetic ones (an expression with a variable), while the letters are assigned numerical values ​​and the numerical value of the resulting expression is found.

2) Comparison of mathematical expressions.

These exercises have a number of variations. Two expressions can be given, but it is necessary to establish whether their values ​​are equal, and if not equal, then which of them is greater or less.
Exercises may be offered in which the relation sign and one of the expressions are already given, and the other expression must be composed or supplemented: 8 (10 + 2) \u003d 8 10 + ...
The expressions of such exercises can include various numerical material: one-digit, two-digit, three-digit numbers and quantities. Expressions can have different actions.

The main role of such exercises is to promote the assimilation of theoretical knowledge about arithmetic operations, their properties, equalities, inequalities, etc. They also help develop computational skills.

3) Solution of equations.

These are, first of all, the simplest equations (x + 2 \u003d 10) and more complex ones (15 x - 9 \u003d 51)

The equation can be presented in different forms:

  • From what number must 18 be subtracted to get 40?
  • solution of the equation x 8 = 72;
  • find the unknown number: 77 + x = 77 + 25
  • Nikolai thought of a number, multiplied it by 5 and got 125. What number did Nikolai think?

The purpose of such exercises is to develop the ability to solve an equation, to help students learn the connections between the components and the results of arithmetic operations.

4) Problem solving.

Both simple and compound tasks are offered for oral work.

These exercises are included in order to develop the ability to solve problems, they help the assimilation of theoretical knowledge and the development of computational skills.
A variety of exercises excites interest in children, activates their mental activity.

Forms of perception of oral counting

1) Fluent auditory (read by a teacher, student, audio recording) - when perceiving a task by ear, a large load falls on memory, so students quickly get tired. However, such exercises are very useful: they develop auditory memory.

2) Visual (tables, posters, cards, notes on the blackboard, computer) - writing down the task makes calculations easier (no need to memorize numbers). Sometimes without a record it is difficult and even impossible to complete the task. For example, you need to perform an action with values ​​expressed in units of two names, fill in a table, or perform actions when comparing expressions.

3) Combined.

  • feedback (showing answers using cards, mutual checking, guessing keywords, checking using the Microsoft Power Point computer program).
  • assignments by options (ensure independence).
  • exercises in the form of a game (“Dialogue”, “Math duel”, “Magic squares”, “Labyrinth of factors”, “Quiz”, “Magic number”, “Individual lotto”, “Best counter”, “Code exercises”, “Chip ”, “Who is faster”, “Flower, sun”, “Numerical mill”, “Numerical fireworks”, “Mathematical phenomenon”, “Silence”, “Mathematical relay race”). The ways and forms of using the listed games in mathematics lessons are considered in the work of V.P. Kovalenko “ Didactic games in math class."

Organization of classes on oral counting

When preparing for the lesson, the teacher must clearly define (based on the objectives of the lesson) the scope and content of oral assignments. If the purpose of the lesson is to present a new topic, then at the beginning of the lesson, you can make oral calculations on the material covered, you can also organize the work so that there is a smooth transition to a new topic. After presenting a new topic, it is appropriate to offer students oral tasks to develop skills and abilities on this topic. If the purpose of the lesson is repetition, then both the teacher and the students should prepare for oral calculations in the classroom. Students, with the advice of a teacher, can do their own counting in each lesson.
Oral counting can be combined with checking homework, consolidating the studied material, offered during a survey, and also specially set aside 5-7 minutes in a lesson for oral counting. The material for this can be selected from the textbook of special collections, mathematical encyclopedias or books, you can invite students to come up with tasks themselves.
Oral exercises should correspond to the topic and purpose of the lesson and help to assimilate the material studied in this lesson or previously covered. Depending on this, the teacher determines the place of oral counting in the lesson. If oral exercises are intended to repeat the material, the formation of computational skills and prepare for the study of new material, then it is better to conduct them at the beginning of the lesson before learning new material. If oral exercises are aimed at consolidating what has been learned in this lesson, then it is necessary to conduct an oral count after studying new material.
When selecting exercises for a lesson, it should be borne in mind that the preparatory exercises and the first exercises for consolidation, as a rule, should be simpler and more straightforward. Here it is unnecessary to strive for a special variety in the formulations and methods of work. Exercises for developing knowledge and skills, and especially for applying them in various conditions, on the contrary, should be more uniform. The wording of tasks, if possible, should be designed so that they are easily perceived by ear. To do this, they must be clear and concise, formulated easily and definitely, and not allow for different interpretations.
In addition to the fact that oral counting in mathematics lessons contributes to the development and formation of strong computational skills and abilities, it also plays an important role in instilling and increasing children's cognitive interest in mathematics lessons, as one of the most important motives for educational and cognitive activity, the development of logical thinking, and development of personal qualities of the child. In my opinion, by arousing interest and instilling love for mathematics with the help of various types of oral exercises, the teacher will help students to actively work with educational material, awaken in them the desire to improve methods of computing and solving problems, replacing less rational ones with more perfect ones. And this is the most important condition for the conscious assimilation of the material.
If the student likes the subject, then he will always with interest, enthusiastically master more and more knowledge, and an increase in interest in mathematics lessons can be achieved as follows:

1) Enriching the content with material on the history of science, which is often found on the pages of the textbook.
2) Solving problems of increased difficulty and non-standard problems. Selection of tasks is carried out from workbooks, didactic materials.
3) Emphasizing strength and grace, rationality of methods of calculations, proofs, transformations and research.
4) A variety of lessons, their non-standard construction, the inclusion in the lessons of elements that give each lesson a unique character, solution problem situations, the use of technical teaching aids (interactive whiteboard, computer, etc.), visual aids, a variety of oral counting.
5) Activation of the cognitive activity of students in the classroom using forms of independent and creative work.
6) Using various forms of feedback: systematic surveys, short-term oral and written tests, various tests, mathematical dictations, tests, along with tests provided for by the plan.
7) Variety homework. For example, invite students to write a fairy tale about a geometric figure, a poem about fractions, degrees.
8) Establishment of internal and interdisciplinary connections, showing and explaining the application of mathematics in life and in production.

For example, when studying triangles, you can tell that triangles are used in the game of billiards, bowling; during the construction of iron structures (Shukhov tower on Shabolovka); railway bridges; high-voltage power lines; introduce the legends of the Bermuda Triangle, the triangle of Pascal, Penrose and much more.

Students like to take part in the preparation for the lesson, therefore, in addition to homework, if desired, you can give the task to independently prepare an oral account for the lesson in accordance with the topic, and conduct it yourself in the next lesson (to be a teacher). You can also give the task to students to prepare an essay, report, come up with a puzzle, rebus, game (see. Attachment 1 ).

The children are very responsible and diligently prepare and conduct oral work in the classroom. When completing this task, they put in a lot of effort, since you need to come up with such tasks so that the class is interested, so that the tasks correspond to the topic of the lesson.

Saturation of lessons with varied, entertaining and useful computational tasks with a high density of current theoretical material on the topics studied is possible only through the improvement of the system of oral exercises in the classroom. This will allow, first of all, to teach students to learn, to delve into the meaning of what is being studied at every step of learning so as to be able to independently solve emerging problems.
This gives them self-confidence and encourages them to improve their results, the children begin to work actively in the lesson and they begin to like this subject.
It is also important to note the following, that primary and secondary school students quickly count, calculate mentally, orally, but for some reason in the upper grades, verbal counting is done using a calculator or with great difficulty without a calculator. It seems to me that we need to strive to ensure that this does not happen. And this, of course, can be achieved with the use of oral counting as an important and necessary element of the lesson.
Oral counting, as a mandatory stage of the lesson, should be carried out in mathematics lessons both in elementary grades and in middle and high grades.

Bibliography:

  1. Berimets V.I."The use of various types of oral exercises as a means of increasing cognitive interest in the lesson of mathematics."
  2. V. P. Kovalenko"Didactic games in mathematics lessons".
  3. Zaitseva O.P. The role of mental counting in the formation of computational skills and in the development of the child's personality // Elementary School, 2001 No. 1
  4. N.K. Vinokurov: “Let's think together”, M. “Growth”.