Numeracy: addition and subtraction (Part 2 of 8)

Introduction (5 minutes)

• Welcome the participants
• Introduce the course (the general objective, the number of sessions, the expected outcome)
• Introduce the session of the day (objective and how long it will be)
• Make sure everybody has the basic knowledge to follow the course (the basic knowledge are to know how to write and read number)

Ice-breaking game (10 minutes)

• Explain that you are going to do an ice-breaking game to warm up the participants and enable them to better work together during the course
• Ask the participants to gather and form an angle, like a choir.
• Ask someone to go in front of the choir, as far as possible, and to state his/her name clearly. The leader who gives his/her name can have fun with the activity and try different intonations. Encourage him/her to go to extremes (speak loudly and after softly for example).
• The choir has to repeat the name using the same tone.
• Then the leader goes back to the choir and a new leader comes in front of the choir and does the same, using a different intonation if possible.
• The chorus must be attentive and support the person who offers his/her name.
• Conclude the game by thanking the participants for their participation.

Main activity (70 minutes)

Part 1 – Reading numbers (15 minutes)

• On a piece of paper, write the numbers from 1 to 9. Use one piece of paper per number and write the number in big script to make sure it is clearly visible by all participants.
• Ask a participant to read one of the numbers you wrote down. If the participant struggles, the others can help. Continue with the other numbers until the participants have read all the numbers. Each participant should read at least one number.
• Ask them how to combine the pieces of paper to create bigger numbers. For instance, if we put side by side the numbers 1 and 3, we have 13. Create different combinations of numbers with the pieces of paper. All the participants have to create at least one new number.

Part 2 – Writing numbers (15 minutes)

• Give a piece of paper and a pen to each participant
• Ask them to write down numbers for 1 to 9. Then ask the participants to write down other numbers of their choice (you may give examples: 56, 89, 14, 32).
• Help the participants that are struggling with the writing of numbers
• When everybody is comfortable with this exercise, you can move to the next phase.

Part 3 – Introduction of basic additions (20 minutes)

• Give the definition of addition: “An addition is the action of taking two or more numbers and adding them together in order to find the sum. The symbol used to indicate addition is + (plus symbol)”. Show the symbol to the participants. All the words in bold are the most important. Make sure all the participants understand the meaning of the words in bold. If not, repeat using other words and ask the participants who understood to explain to the others.
• Give examples of addition in everyday life. Here are some examples but you can create your own:
  • My neighbor has 1 boy and 1 girl, so she has 2 children. 1 boy and 1 girl make 2 children.
  • I collected 2 bottles of water and there is already 1 in my home, so I have 3 bottles of water. 2 bottles and 1 bottle make 3 bottles.
• Using the marbles, show how to do basic additions. Put a couple of marbles on one side, some other marbles on the other side and ask the participants to count the total number of marbles.
  • Use the example above: 1 Marble = 1 boy or girl / 1 Marble = 1 bottle, and ask the participant to count them
• Now, make two groups of marbles and ask the participants how many marbles there are if we add the two piles of marbles.
• Repeat this exercise several times with different quantities of marbles in the piles.
• Ask the participant to create new examples of addition in everyday life

Part 4 – Writing down basic addition (20 minutes)

• Using the first basic examples (like 1 boy and 1 girl make 2 children), show the participants how to write the addition on a piece of paper. So write down 1 + 1 = 2. Do it again with other basic examples.
• Explain the symbol + and the symbol =, make sure every participant understood it.
• Using the examples given by the participants, ask the participants to write down their own addition.
• Give a copy of exercise 1 (you can find exercise 1 at the end of the workshop sheet) and a pen to each participant. Give them time to do the exercises. If some participants are struggling with the additions, you can ask the participants who finished the exercises to help the others.
• Make the correction all together. Ask first the participants what is their answer. Give the answer yourself only if nobody has the good answer. Always congratulate the participant who will give the good answer. Take the time to correct all the exercises.

Conclusion (5 minutes)

• Thank the participants for their involvement and focus during the session.
• Summarize what was learnt during the session: Today we reviewed the writing and reading of the numbers, we also discovered basic additions and made exercises to test our knowledge on basic addition.
• Collect feedback from the participants and ask questions like: Do you feel that you learnt something during the session? Do you think this new knowledge can be useful to you? Were you comfortable during the session?
• Give the date and the location of the next session to the participants, make sure everybody will be available. If not, find a more convenient time and place so everybody can be here. Do not forget to tell them about the next session objectives.