What are some ways to teach even and odd #ers?

Question

I have a 2nd grade home schooler on my hands who does have Dyscalculalia...so any ideas will be helpful with teaching him odd and even #ers.

Answer 1

I used to have my kids chant the numbers out loud, but whisper every other number. If we started out saying 1, then the whispered numbers were the even ones. If we started with 0 out loud, then the whispered numbers were the odd ones. Then we would speed it up until it was harder to whisper the suppressed numbers, so they would just have to "think" them. Soon they could count out even numbers and odd numbers without the little pause in between. Finally we did some of the exercises suggested by the other answerers.

Answer 2

I made a cassette tape of us saying a variety of things.  The kids loved taping themselves and hearing their own voices.  On the tape, we included a variety of stories, songs, and lessons (including math lessons on even and odd).  

For even and odd, we counted by 2's to at least 30 and then I explained that even numbers are ones that we say when counting by twos and the kids provide some examples of even numbers.  Then I explain that odd numbers are the ones that we don't say when counting by twos.

There is a lot of repetition on the tape, so we did this a few times, throughout the tape.  Sometimes, the explanation was that you only have to consider the last digit of the number; if it is one that you use in counting by 2's, the number is even.  If the last digit is *not* one that is used in counting by 2's, the number is odd.

Since we did this several times to make the cassette tape, the kids practiced it repeatedly to make the tape.  Then the tape was put in the car and we listen to it periodically while driving around town.  The kids love hearing themselves on the tape.  And they'll try (with a bit of encouragement) to count by 2's along with the tape, or to explain even and odd before it is explained on the tape.  The regular repetition, listening to these ideas regularly, helped them to learn the concept.

Hope you figure out what works for your child.

Answer 3

With objects.

Even numbers can be equally split into 2 groups. Odd numbers can't. So, start with the number 1. (I'd even have a hundred chart on the side to mark the numbers off--maybe red for odd and green for even.) Maybe it'll be one chocolate chip or something else that you have that you can use. Place it down. Say, "This is one. It's an odd number; I can't split it evenly into two groups and still leave it whole. Lets colour all the odd numbers red on your chart." Allow him to colour it red. Alternatively, you could have cards that say "Even" and "Odd" and he can place it below the "counters" that you are using.

Leave that one. Create a new spot with 2 choc. chips. "Now we have 2, don't we?" Take a ruler or pencil or something and place it in between the two. "I can split these into 2 even groups. Because the groups are even, this is an even number. Let's colour it green."

Create a set of 3, but this time, you'll place down your first two, like when you did 2, but then you'll put the third one below, always keeping 2 columns. You can also put the third one below the middle of the two, kind of making a triangle. It becomes very obvious that you can't split the counters into 2 equal groups. "So now we have three. Can we put them into 2 equal groups?" You can use the pencil/ruler or he can to show that you can't do it. "So 3 is an odd number."

Proceed until at least 10. He should get the idea by that point that it alternates and will probably be able to predict on the chart which ones will be odd and which ones will be even. He can continue colouring in the chart.

On a separate day, have a look at the chart with him and write down what the odd numbers end with and a separate column for what even numbers end with. Remind him or see if he remembers that even numbers can be divided into 2 equal groups. You could then play some games to reinforce the concept. For example, print off a separate hundred table and cut out all the numbers. Put them in a dish or other container. Pick out a number and ask him if it is odd or even. He should be allowed to use his coloured chart or the columns you two wrote showing what odd and even numbers finished with. You should also take your turn so that you have to say if it's odd or even.

Keep playing these types of activities, using materials if need be, and in time, it will stick!

Answer 4

We used sidewalk chalk and a church parking lot. My daughter practiced by hopping and skipping the odds and evens. You can use two different colors for odds and evens. This is a fun exercise for a sunny day.

Answer 5

My son doesn't have any conditions, but he did struggle a little with the concept of numbers being even and odd.  As he was a little too small to understand what "divisible by 2" meant, I drew the numbers on a white board, like this:

          1                     3                 5                  7                  9      

0                    2                   4                  6                  8               10

      

I explained that the upper numbers are ALWAYS odd and the bottom numbers are ALWAYS even.  Then I explained that any number ending with an upper number is odd and any number ending with a lower number is even.  I knew he had gotten it when I could ask him if some outrageous number like 824, 615, 209 was odd or even and he'd say "odd".  I hope this helps.  All the best.

Edit:  I couldn't get the numbers to space out properly, in my example.  The upper numbers should fall above the spaces in the lower line.

Answer 6

1. With our son we drew a line down the center of the paper. I asked him to go get his two favorite markers. Make sure there completely different colors. On the left of the page I wrote the word OOD in color A on the right of the page I wrote EVEN in color B.

I told him odd numbers mean that he can't share equally. I had him guess a # and tell me if it was odd or even. If it was odd when he finished dividing it up I'd say "THAT's not fair! you got more!" and write it in the color where the odds go. If it was even I wrote it in the color evens went we did this until he had a number line 1-20 odds on one side evens on the other. Then I started to ask him again what's odd? what's even? He found the number and traced it up to the word to read the word.

  

Then based on color he had to draw a line to odd or even. I got him really use to the two colors. Then slowly I moved the colors closer and closer to black on my computer.

2. Another thing I was going to try is sand paper odds, silk evens, slowly moving to bumpy odds and regular foam evens.  

I have a 1st that may have Dyscalculalia and have gone through several (7) math programs this year alone.

suggestions I have gotten but for place value and writing:

We had a whole set of number "flash cards" made with sand paper cut outs, so she could feel how the numbers looked when you write them.

- We used plasticine to make the numbers, so they were raised, and she was able to make them as well.

- We drew in sand, rice, and any number of other fine, grainy textures with the index finger, to feel how to form the number.

- We practiced left to right and left AND right allllll the time, and constantly reminded that the number __ faced whatever direction, sometimes - when looking at double/triple digit numbers using a piece of paper or something to be sure only one number at a time was showing.

- We had foamy textured numbers, big numbers, small numbers, magnetic numbers, everything you could imagine, so long as it was able to be seen and felt.

- We used little rhymes to remember how to make many of the numbers, some of which are found here: http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songsp...

Answer 7

Have him line up any kind of manulipitive. Pennys or blocks what ever. For instance give him 7 blocks and have him line them up in two rows and then ask him if the rows are the same in number. Then explain to him that even numbers can be split in two and both sides will have the same number but odds will have different numbers. Finally teach him the even and odd numbers up to 9.

Answer 8

Get a packet of lollies, m&m's are always great, and put them into piles of 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, as many different piles as you want.

Tell your child that you have some lollies and you want to share them with him/her. Then say 'oh no!' he/she will probably say 'what's wrong?' because it is always scarey when there is trouble with lollies! then you say. "i put these into piles so that we have groups of 1, 2, 3, etc in the piles. I just realized that some of these numbers are odd, that means that we won't be able to share them."

"if you could help me figure out the even numbered piles, those are the ones that have the same amount for you and I, and the odd numbered piles, the ones where you and i would not get the same amount- then we could find a way to share them and you could have the left overs!"

have him divide the piles into 2 so that there is the same amount on each side. tell him that if there is not the same number on each side, then it is odd and we either have to add a lollie to it, or take one away, to make it even.

at the end, while you are both eating the lollies, tell him again how many you had to have in a pile to make it even, and ask him which numbers didn't work out.

Answer 9

Try the tables.  2 4 6 8       1 3 5 7