• Digit Drop Integers

    The link above is what you want to click on to access the program to practice your basic operations with positive and negative integers.  Then:

    1.  Click PLAY.
     
     
     
    2.  Select the operation that you would like to practice, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, or Division, or Random (a combination of the four operations).  I would recommend to start with ADDITION to get accustomed to the program.
     
    3.  Select EASY or HARD.  I would suggest EASY to start.  These are challenging enough for our purposes.
      
     
     
     4.  Select what style of game.  This is your preference.  A description of the choices is below.
     
    CLASSIC:  In this mode, you get one minute to see how many that you can get right, kind of like the Mad Minutes that some of you did in elementary school.  The program will give you a score, how many you got right and how many you got wrong in that minute.  You can hit R to redo or start again.  You can easily keep track of your top scores in this mode to see your progress with your proficiency and efficiency. 
     
    BONUS TIME:  You start out with a minute's time, but the program gives you 3 additional seconds every time you get a question correct.  It also allows you to keep going past a minute if you would like to keep going.
     
    RELAX:  In this mode, you can do as many math calculations as you would like, at your own pace with no time limits.  You might want to start here and just focus on accuracy until you are comfortable enough to start timing yourself and trying to increase your speed. 
     
    5.  Play away.  Note that R is for redo or restart, M is for the main menu, and S is for sound or no sound.  Please do not use a calculator.   That is the point, to develop these skills without the use of a calculator.  To complete a move to answer a question, Click on the answer to the right, Hold and Drag it over the barrier to the spot where the answer belongs in the equation.  Then Release.  You will get the knack quickly. 
     
    NOTE:  You are certainly welcome to find other similar programs on your own or to practice these skills in any way that best suits you.  I like this particular program because, for some of the questions, you are asked to figure out what you have to add or subtract to get a certain sum or difference, or you are asked to determine what you need to multiply by or divide by to get a particular product or quotient.  This will help force students to really learn their rules for doing basic calculations with positive and negative numbers, because students will pick up on and/or discover their own patterns through repeated practice.  With this program, I believe that students will be able to improve these skills on their own terms.
     
Last Modified on January 15, 2015