Reading Tip #1- Remembering What You Read

Sometimes, it may be hard to remember what you read. It happens to me a lot. I figured out that if you read in short chunks or phrases, it makes it easier to remember. I put an example below that I read. The slashes are where you pause. Two slashes in a row means the end of a sentence. I found it much easier to remember.

What started out/ as a normal day/ would soon turn into/ one of the most unusual days/ Joe had ever had.// His mom came in/ and woke him up at 7:10/ so he could get ready/ for school.// Breakfast was the same cereal/ he ate every day/ along with an orange/ and a glass of juice.// As he left,/ he grabbed his homework/ and backpack.// He told his mom/ that he had a basketball game/ that night.//

When we were asked these questions, we knew all the answers without looking back:
What time did his mom wake Joe up?
What was for breakfast?
What did he grab as he left?
What did he tell his mom?
This takes longer, but it helps you remember it better, as long as you find the right place to pause.

Math Trick #3-Double Checking

This trick is also simple, like Math Trick #2, but may be hard to understand. If you are trying to find an equivalent fraction, this might help, but this will only work if one of the fraction's numerator and denominator are 1 piece apart, like 1/2. 1 is only one away from 2. Then, the number you multiply by to get the numerator/denominator will be how far away the numbers are in the equivalent fraction. Take an easy fraction such as 2/3. Notice how the numerator and denominator are only one piece apart. Then if you were to find a equivalent fraction by multiplying by 3, you can use this trick. 2 x 3= 6 and 3 x 3= 9, so the equivalent fraction would be 6/9. If you wanted to double check, you can see 9-6= 3, and 3 is the number you multiplied by. This will work every time if you are finding a equivalent fraction, and one of the fraction's numerator and denominator are 1 apart.

Another Example:
3 x 5 = 15
4 x 5 = 20           20-15= 5      5 is the number we multiplied by.

Math Trick #2- Halving Even Numbers With Odd

This trick is very simple. To figure the half of an even number can be easy, but other times harder. When dividing a two-digit even number, all you have to do is half both numbers. What if the first number is an odd number? This does not make it an odd number all together. You use the method of borrowing in subtraction to help you out, but you will never subtract. Let's say the number is 56. When you use that method, one less than 5 is 4, so you change the first part to a 4. Then bring over your one in front the six, to make it sixteen. Half of 4 is 2, and half of 16 is 8, so your answer is 28. Now I know 56 divided by 2 is 28.