Does your child struggle with math? Arithmetic-based games boost their understanding: Here's a guide to how YOU can play at home

  • Reading numbers off cards and sorting them numerically boosts understanding
  • Playing social games, such as gauging expressions, has no impact on math skills
  • Superior math ability from games lasts for more than a year, but not into school
  • Researchers believe math games should be incorporated into curriculums

By ALEXANDRA THOMPSON HEALTH REPORTER FOR MAILONLINE

Published: | Updated:

Playing math games boosts youngsters' understanding of the subject, new research reveals.

Simply reading numbers off of cards and sorting them in numerical order is enough to aid children's knowledge of arithmetic and geometry, a study found.

The authors wrote: 'The math games caused persistent gains in children's mathematical abilities'.

Researchers believe such play time should be incorporated into school curriculums to continue youngsters' math knowledge as they age.

MailOnline presents a guide on different math-based games parents can play with their children to improve their understanding of the subject.

Playing math games boosts youngsters' understanding of the subject, new research reveals

Playing math games boosts youngsters' understanding of the subject, new research reveals

MATH GAMES TO PLAY AT HOME 

The study researchers had the children read numbers off of cards and sort them in numerical order.

Other games you can play include:

  • Pairing: Write numbers on a card and give a child one. Have them search for the card they need to add to their card to make the number 10.
  • Ship shape: Draw a picture of a boat using two triangles as the sails and a semi-circle as the base. Ask the child to identify the shapes.
  • Egg sums: Write different numbers in the empty slots of an egg carton. Have a child roll two dice. See if they are able to make one of the numbers in the carton by adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing the numbers on the dice.
  • Bingo: Make bingo cards containing different numbers that could be made by adding together the figures on two dice. Have a child roll two dice and add the figures together to see if they can check off their bingo sheet.
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How the study was carried out  

Researchers from Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and New York University analyzed 1,540 children with an average age of five enrolled in 214 Indian preschools. 

Study author Professor Elizabeth Spelke from Harvard University, said five years old is the age children experience a, 'transition from developing knowledge in a common-sense, spontaneous manner, to going to school, where they have to start grappling with formal subjects and building formal skills.'

Around one-third of the children played math games. These included reading numbers off of cards and sorting them in numerical order.

BOOKS WITH MORE THAN ONE PICTURE PER PAGE LIMIT VOCABULARY LEARNING 

Books with more than one illustration per page limit vocabulary learning in toddlers, research revealed earlier this month.

Children read stories with only one illustration per double page learn twice as many words as those told stories with more pictures, a study found.

Yet, when two illustrations are on a double page, a hand gesture directing youngsters to a particular image can boost their learning, the research adds.

Study author Zoe Flack from the University of Sussex, said: 'Our findings fit well with cognitive load theory, which suggests that learning rates are affected by how complicated a task is.

'In this case, by giving children less information at once, or guiding them to the correct information, we can help children learn more words.' 

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A further one-third of the study's participants played games that focused on 'social content', such as encouraging youngsters to gauge the emotion expressed in an image on a card and sorting the cards on that basis.

Study author Professor Moira Dillon from New York University, said that all the games were 'fun, fast-pace and social' and 'encouraged a desire to play together'.

The remaining children played neither of the two games.

All of the children were analyzed shortly after the games, as well as six and 12 months later. 

Key findings  

Results revealed that children playing math games have a better grasp of the subject more than a year later.

The authors wrote: 'The math games caused persistent gains in children's non-symbolic mathematical abilities'.

Yet, these superior math skills did not enable them to do better at the subject at school. 

The children playing the other game had better social skills but no difference in math ability.

The findings were published in the journal Science.

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