Elementary students are often just beginning to learn the basic concepts of arithmetic and mathematics. Teachers should understand that by simply explaining these concepts, many students will not grasp the concept immediately. Using the hands-on method, teachers can help students learn the material by giving them something to do and providing manipulatives. For instance, when teaching addition, have the students use small pieces of candy or toys to visualize adding two numbers together.
The instruction burst method offers another effective to teach elementary students math concepts. Elementary school students are not likely to have long attention spans. Teachers should spend a few minutes introducing a concept, and then allow the students to do some work on their own, before continuing with the next set of instructions. An entire lesson using this method should take no more than 30 minutes.
Teachers can also use the practicing method to ensure that their students fully understand the concepts presented to them. After giving a short lesson, teachers will have the students practice what was just taught on their own. The teacher is then available for questions, and the student learns the concept by doing the work on his own.
Knowledge-in-Action is a method that requires teachers to put their best foot forward when teaching math lessons to elementary students. This method requires that teachers know far more about a given topic than might be required, so that the teacher is able to explain it in a variety of different ways for students. A teacher using knowledge-in-action methods can quickly revise a problem for a student so that she will better understand the concept.