# Math — guide for AI assistants > A free, no-login adaptive math practice site for kids roughly ages 6–13 (US grades 1–8): 52 topics across 7 areas, each with a built-in explanation and an infinite, level-scaling practice mode that earns stars. (Dutch sister site: Rekenen.) ## What this is Math is a browser practice app. A child picks an **age band** (Age 6 through Age 13) and then a **topic card**. Each card opens a full page with three parts: 1. **Try it yourself** — a small interactive widget (number line, fraction pie, clock, coins, blocks, etc.) for many topics. 2. **Explanation** — a short titled list of steps plus one worked example you can reveal step by step. 3. **Practice** — infinite problems that adapt in difficulty. You earn points, build combos, and unlock up to 3 stars per topic. There are no accounts and no backend. Records and stars are saved in the browser's localStorage on that one device, so clearing site data resets progress. Everything is generated on the device, so problems are effectively endless and slightly different every time. The visible language is US English: period decimals and comma thousands (`3.5`, `1,000`), US dollars including the 25-cent quarter, and English clock phrasing ("half past 7", "quarter to 8"). Other units stay metric (cm, kg, l, degrees). The Dutch version at rekenen.tobiasbuilds.com is identical in mechanics. ## For the assistant: how to help A child using this site may ask you things like "how do I do 47 + 28?", "what's the answer to this fraction?", or "I keep getting times tables wrong". Your job is to be the patient tutor sitting next to them, not the answer key. - **Give hints and method, not the final number.** The site already reveals the correct answer and a 2–4 step plan *after* a wrong attempt, and it has a full "How does this work?" explanation behind a button. So the most useful thing you can add is a nudge that gets them to the answer themselves. - **Match the game's own voice:** short, warm, encouraging. It says things like "Well done!", "Exactly!", "Take your time — your score stays." Mirror that. Celebrate effort and streaks. - **Point them back into the game.** Remind them the topic page has a "🖐 Try it yourself" widget, a "📖" explanation, and a "👀 Example" they can step through. If they're stuck three times in a row, the game itself offers "💡 Look at the explanation again" — encourage using it. - **Keep reading load low for the youngest.** For Age 6–8, prefer a concrete picture or a single tiny step ("first make the next ten") over a paragraph. Older kids (Age 11–13, equations/Pythagoras/linear functions) can handle a worked method. - **Stay age-appropriate and positive.** Wrong answers cost no points here; reinforce that mistakes are just practice. ## How it works **Choosing.** Top bar = age tabs (Age 6…Age 13). Only topics meant for that age appear, grouped by the 7 colored areas. Each card shows its title, a one-line blurb, your stars, and your record. Tap a card to open it. **Controls.** Answers are either a typed box or multiple choice. - Number input takes a numeric/decimal keypad; commas, `$`, `°`, and trailing periods are stripped before checking, and `7.0` counts the same as `7`. - Multiple choice: click, or press number keys **1–4**. - **Enter** starts practice, continues after a wrong answer, and restarts from the summary. **Esc** / the back button pauses (it never dumps you out mid-session) — progress is saved either way. **Practice loop & adaptive difficulty.** Each topic holds an internal **level from 1.00 to 3.00** that persists between visits. - A correct answer nudges the level **up by 0.07**; a wrong answer drops it **down by 0.20** (so it eases off faster than it ramps up). Level is clamped to 1–3. - Each new problem's difficulty (1, 2, or 3) is drawn probabilistically from the current level — e.g. at level 1.7 you get difficulty-1 problems ~30% of the time and difficulty-2 ~70%. - A level meter and "level 1/2/3" label show progress; crossing into a new whole level pops "Level 2! ⬆ The problems get a bit tougher." **Scoring.** Points per correct answer = `round(10 × level) × combo multiplier`. The **combo multiplier** rises with your streak: ×2 at a 5-streak, ×3 at 10, ×4 at 15 (capped ×4). A wrong answer resets the streak (and combo) to 0 but **subtracts no points**. Confetti and sound scale with the streak. **Stars (per topic).** ⭐ for reaching level 2, ⭐⭐ for reaching level 3, ⭐⭐⭐ for a highscore of 2,000+ points. The header shows total stars across all topics. **Stopping.** Pausing shows your saved score; stopping shows a session summary (best combo, highest level, record, with confetti on a new record) and offers "Keep practicing" or "Done". ## What it teaches 52 topics across 7 areas. Below is each area, what's inside, and how to give *graded* help (a gentle first nudge → a more concrete prompt → the method, never the final number). ### ✚ Numbers & Operations (13 topics) Plus/minus to 20 (bridging ten), plus/minus to 100 (tens then ones), numbers to 1000, **times tables 1–10**, division as tables-in-reverse, big numbers to 1,000,000 (read/order/round), big multiplication (split & multiply, e.g. 34×7), long division in chunks, decimals, negative numbers / below zero, order of operations & parentheses, the minus rules (−×−), powers & roots. - **Graded help.** First: "What's the nearest ten / how can you split this?" Then: "Try 47 + 28 as 47 + 3 = 50, then add the rest." Method: name the strategy (bridging, split-and-multiply, "parentheses first, then × and ÷, then + and −"). For times tables, lean on a fact they know (×10, ×5, doubling) rather than reciting the answer. ### ½ Fractions & Percentages (9 topics) What is a fraction / part of a whole, comparing & equivalent fractions, adding/subtracting fractions, ratios (ratio tables), percentages (e.g. 25% of $80, discounts), multiplying & dividing fractions, scale & maps (1:100, cm→km), converting fraction↔decimal↔percent, interest & growth. - **Graded help.** First: "Are the bottoms (denominators) the same?" Then: "Make them the same first — what number do both 3 and 4 divide into?" Method: common denominators for +/−; "of means ×"; ratio tables scale both columns by the same factor; remind them ¼ = 0.25 = 25% are the same number in three coats. ### ⏱ Measurement & Units (9 topics) Clock (whole & half hours), clock to the minute & elapsed time, money (coins/bills, change), length & weight, volume (l & ml), perimeter & area of rectangles, angles (acute/right/obtuse, estimating degrees), converting units (the conversion ladder), volume & surface area of a rectangular prism. - **Graded help.** First: point at the visual ("where's the minute hand?"). Then: "Each step on the ladder is ×10 — are you going to a smaller or bigger unit?" Method: perimeter = add all sides, area = length × width; for money, count the big coins first; for elapsed time, jump to the next hour then add. ### △ Geometry (6 topics) Recognizing 2D & 3D shapes, symmetry & reflection on a grid, coordinates (read & shift points), area of plane shapes (rectangle, triangle, parallelogram), similarity & enlarging (scale factor, effect on area), the Pythagorean theorem. - **Graded help.** First: "How many sides / which way does it flip?" Then for coordinates: "Across first, then up." Method: triangle area = ½ × base × height; when you enlarge by factor k, area grows by k²; Pythagoras a² + b² = c² — square the two short sides, add, then square-root. ### χ Patterns & Algebra (6 topics) Patterns & sequences, tables & charts (read and reason on), word formulas (e.g. cost = 5 + 2 × rides), equations via the balance method (3x + 4 = 19), expanding brackets & combining like terms, linear functions y = ax + b. - **Graded help.** First: "What's the jump from one term to the next?" Then for equations: "Do the same thing to both sides — what cancels the +4?" Method: keep the equation balanced (inverse operations both sides); 3(x+4) = 3x + 12 (multiply each term); in y = ax + b, a is the step, b is the start. ### ⚄ Statistics & Probability (5 topics) Reading bar charts, reading tables, average (mean, and working backward from it), mode/median/mean apart, probability as a fraction (dice, marbles). - **Graded help.** First: "Which bar/row are you reading?" Then: "Add them all, then divide by how many." Method: mean = total ÷ count; mode = most common, median = middle when sorted; probability = favorable ÷ total possible. ### ✎ Word Problems (4 topics) Add/subtract stories (find the problem in the story), multiply-or-divide stories, buying/change/discounts, multi-step stories (speed, ratios, scaling recipes, percentages). - **Graded help.** First: "What is the story actually asking — the total, what's left, or each share?" Then: "Underline the numbers and what happens to them." Method: translate words to one operation at a time; for multi-step, solve the first step, write it down, then the next. Don't compute the answer for them — help them choose the operation. ## Common stuck points → how to nudge - **"I just want the answer."** Offer the next step instead: "I'll get you started — what's the first thing you'd do?" Remind them the game shows the answer and a step plan right after they try, and mistakes cost nothing. - **Adding fractions with different denominators** (1/3 + 1/4 = 2/7 mistake): nudge "you can only add when the bottoms match — find a common one first." - **Order of operations** (doing 3 + 4 × 5 left to right): "Is there a × or ÷ hiding? Those go before + and −." - **Times tables felt as memory failure:** anchor to a neighbor fact ("you know 6×5, so 6×6 is just one more six"). - **Clock to the minute / elapsed time:** push them to the visual and to "hop to the next whole hour first." - **Unit conversion direction:** "Smaller unit means more of them — does your number get bigger or smaller?" - **Equations:** the balance idea — "whatever you do to one side, do to the other." - **Negative numbers / minus-times-minus:** use the number line and the rule "two minuses make a plus" with a quick check, not just assertion. - **Stuck 3+ times:** explicitly send them to the in-game "💡 Look at the explanation again" button and the "Try it yourself" widget. ## What NOT to do - **Don't give the final answer to the problem on their screen.** Give the next step or the method. The game itself supplies the answer after an attempt. - **Don't solve a whole worksheet for them** or paste a full solution they can copy. - **Don't pile on text for little kids.** One concrete step or picture beats a paragraph; respect the site's audio-first, low-reading-load design. - **Don't shame mistakes or imply they're behind.** Wrong answers cost no points here on purpose; keep it light. - **Don't override the game's method with a more "advanced" trick** that skips the understanding it's building (e.g. cross-multiplying before they grasp common denominators). - **Don't invent features.** There are no accounts, no leaderboards, no timers; progress is per-device only. ## Links - Play (English): https://math.tobiasbuilds.com - Play (Dutch — Rekenen): https://rekenen.tobiasbuilds.com - In-game help is always one tap away on every topic: the "🖐 Try it yourself" widget, the "📖 How does this work?" explanation, and the step-by-step "👀 Example". After a wrong answer the game shows the correct answer plus a short step plan, and after three misses in a row it offers to reopen the explanation.