TIPS & TRICKS

Overview

Arithmetic Reasoning questions evaluate children’s ability to use numbers in order to infer relationships and solve problems. It requires understanding of simple mathematical concepts, including counting, adding and subtracting, doubling, reducing or increasing small numbers. While many questions are straightforward, some are more complicated and requires careful listening and reasoning skills.

Example:

Henry and his friends are going to the beach. The first box shows some hats and sunglasses. Which picture shows how many more hats are needed so that there is an equal number of hats and sunglasses?

Tips and Tricks

  • Before starting on any section, find a quiet place with no distractions. Make sure your child is sitting comfortably.
  • Provide positive and encouraging feedback for correct answers and supportive feedback with explanations for incorrect answers. Avoid any negative feedback, comments, or gestures as this may discourage your child.
  • Before reading aloud the question, ask the child whether he is ready and to listen carefully. Preparing your child to pay attention is part of training the mind.
  • Many questions use small numbers under ten, thus if the child is just starting out with arithmetic counting it is ok to count using fingers.
  • As you read the question out load feel free to have the child capture the numbers on his hand. For example for below question, as soon as you read out five cookies, ask the child to make a mental note and open five fingers on his hand. As you are read through the rest of question guide the child to make changes on his hand.

“Mom bought five cookies for her two sons. She gave one cookie to Mark and two cookies to Monica. How many cookies are left?”

Once the child gets comfortable counting with fingers it may longer be necessary however some of the questions are quite long and filled with unnecessary words which can confuse the child. Having a clear system in place creates a process a child can follow and depend on.

  • Ask the child to review every answer choice and eliminate answers they know to be wrong.
  • Incorporate Arithmetic Reasoning throughout the day. Helping the child understand the concept of increasing and decreasing along with adding and subtracting is very important for successfully answering the questions. Children are surrounded by numbers every day. Use familiar objects to help them get comfortable, such as fruits, cookies or toys.