Math Misconceptions

1.OA.3-4

Look closely at errors in students’ work (formative assessment) to help you reflect and

make instructional decisions to suit all students’ needs.

When students are starting to record equations, they may transpose the digits in a subtraction problem, overgeneralize, and begin thinking that subtraction is also commutative. Students discover that addition is commutative because they are presented with the idea that 8 + 3 and 3 + 8 are related expressions. However, some students do not understand why addition is commutative. Addition is the sum of two or more groups and the order does not change the result. This is important to understanding the addition operation. Students need repeated experiences with concrete materials to understand that subtraction is finding the difference or distance between two quantities. The intent is not for students to experiment with negative numbers, but only to recognize that 8 – 3 does not mean the same as 3 – 8. MISCONCEPTION:

WHAT TO DO:

3 + 8 = 8 + 3