Week 6 of 8
Week 6
2nd Grade → 3rd Grade · Repeated addition and Prefixes suffixes
Math
Repeated Addition
Seeing 4 + 4 + 4 as three groups of four, written 3 × 4. Late second grade.
The mistake to watch for. Reversing the meaning: writing 4 × 3 for "three groups of four". Both give 12, so the error stays hidden until word problems arrive.
How to help. Say the sentence before the symbols: "three groups of four". The number of groups is spoken first, so it is written first.
A worked example
3 + 3 + 3 + 3 is 4 groups of 3, which we write as 4 × 3. Count by threes: 3, 6, 9, 12. So 4 × 3 = 12.
Reading & language
Prefixes and Suffixes
Adding a word part to the front (prefix) or end (suffix) of a root word to change its meaning. Second grade.
The mistake to watch for. Guessing the new word's meaning from the root alone and ignoring what the prefix or suffix adds — reading "unhappy" as just "happy".
How to help. Teach a small set of prefixes and suffixes by their meaning first (un- = not, re- = again, -ful = full of), then apply them to words the child already knows.
A worked example
A prefix goes at the front and changes the meaning: un + happy = unhappy (not happy). A suffix goes at the end: help + ful = helpful (full of help).
Words for this week
- multiply
- To add the same number again and again, in a faster way.
- group
- A set of things put together, like 4 groups of 3 apples.
- times
- The word we say for multiply. 3 times 4 means 3 × 4.
- equal
- The same amount. The sign = means "is equal to".
- add
- To put numbers together to find how many in all.
- prefix
- A group of letters added to the front of a word to change its meaning, like un- in unhappy.
- suffix
- A group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning, like -ful in helpful.
- word
- A group of letters that has a meaning.
- meaning
- What a word or a sentence tells you.
- letter
- One of the symbols we use to write words, like a, b or c.
Read this week
Oak
A short plants article from our Learn library, chosen for this reading level. Read it together, then ask your child to tell you one new thing they learned.