Help Screen: Tips and Tricks


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The following tips and tricks can help you get the most out of this software. Examples are presented for addition, but most of the techniques can be used for subtraction, multiplication, and division as well.

As a starting point, consider the following inputs for a basic addition table:
             Addend Range:         1-11
             Fixed Addend:         5
Every problem in the resulting table has a fixed addend of 5. The other (non-fixed) addend is randomly selected from the range 1 through 11.

Tip 1:  To practice two math tables at once:
             Addend Range:         1-11
             Fixed Addend:         4, 5
4's and 5's are randomly selected to be the fixed addend. The other (non-fixed) addend is randomly selected from the range 1 through 11.

Tip 2:  To restrict the range on the non-fixed addend:
             Addend Range:         4-11
             Fixed Addend:         5
Instead of using 1 through 11 for the non-fixed addend, this uses 4 through 11.

Tip 3:  To practice certain problems (such as 5+7 and 5+8) more often than the rest:
             Addend Range:         2-11, 7, 7, 8, 8
             Fixed Addend:         5
The non-fixed addend is selected from the list: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 7 7 8 8. Because 7's and 8's appear more often in the list, they will appear more often in the problems. Use this technique to give extra practice on problems with which the child is having trouble. (See the help screen on Spot Review for more ideas.)

Tip 4:  To use occasional values of 1,000 for the maximum addend:
             Addend Range:         1-11, 1000
             Fixed Addend:         5
The non-fixed addend is selected from the list: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1000. So roughly every 12th problem will contain a 1000. This is easy to solve, and adds a little spice to the sheet. Try the input "1-11, -1" for an occasional negative number.

Tip 5:  To make the non-fixed addend an even number:
             Addend Range:         2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
             Fixed Addend:         5
The non-fixed addend is selected from the list: 2 4 6 8 10 12. This can help demonstrate that an odd number plus an even number is always odd.

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