According to the Jefferson County Public Schools, one of the best practices for teaching elementary math is to use either small-groups or engage the whole class in a discussion. The Higher Education Academy Palatine also adds that small-group work can seriously benefit a child's learning; for example by feeding their ambition to contribute, which provides more opportunity for feedback and outside opinion. Having whole-class discussions after small-group learning also allows for a greater communication of ideas and can reward students (and their groups) for coming up with the right answer in front of their peers.
The Home School Math website stresses the importance of getting to know the tools at your disposal. In particular, the site says that it is vital to learn to use the tool before you introduce it to the class; getting the most out of the tools will benefit your class much more than just supplying them in large amounts to spice up the lesson. A whiteboard or blackboard and a set of textbooks make a good place to start -- after this you might consider getting to know the computer games or math software available. You not only need to master these tools, but also keep looking for new ways to inspire and engage your pupils.
Active learning benefits the students much more than passive learning. According to teaching academics, passive learning (reading and listening) account for up to 20% of what we remember two weeks after a lesson. In comparison, active learning (discussing, talking and doing) accounts for up to 90% of what we retain. Some of the more inventive ways to bring math to life include drawing geometric shapes, applying math to outside events (e.g. measuring distances to rescue a cat up a tree) and physical games involving the students themselves.
Doris Gluck -- a mathematics coordinator for Friends School Harvard -- has come up with a practices checklist for tutors to consider when teaching their classes. The checklist outlines the essential steps of teaching so that elementary teachers can develop and perfect the basic practices for tutoring their pupils. This list splits into five steps: the first two are "Problem Solving" and "Reasoning and Proof," which involve explaining what the math is and how it is worked out. The next two are "Communication" and "Connections," which encourage the students to talk about how the math works and if it can be connected to any other theories. The final step is "Representation," which gets the students to write down and consolidate their thinking so that they may remember it. This checklist serves as a general outline of teaching and, if used regularly and properly, can help tutors master the more basic practices of teaching elementary math.