Harry S. Truman Second Grade Students Learn Algebra

At a time when most second-graders were learning how to add and subtract, their peers at got their first taste of algebra.

Using images of pears and apples, Henry Borenson, inventor of a novel method to teach young children algebraic equations, spent a day successfully teaching students in Kristen Zellner's second-grade classroom concepts they wouldn't normally study until eighth or ninth grade.

Algebra problems such as:

• Simplify: 2a + 3p – p + 4a

• If a=2 and b=3, how much is 4a + 2b?

• Find the missing value: 2a + a + 4p = ___ + 4p

“Many students have difficulty with algebra and abstract word problems. When the concepts are made visual, they experience a high level of success, even in the lower grades," said Borenson, president of Borenson and Associates, an Allentown-based company that sells his math program, Hands-On Equations, to schools and parents across the country.

Chris Watto, whose daughter, Chase, was among the second-graders at Truman to learn Borenson's method to solve algebra problems, said the students thought the lesson was fun. Moreover, the students didn't realize they're doing advanced math, she said.

“They were all excited and paid attention,” Watto said.

The students seemed to understand the equations because of the visual nature of the lesson and actively participating in fun activities, she said.

An added benefit, Watto said, is the lesson has sparked her daughter’s interest in mathematics.

Perhaps Borenson has inspired an entire classroom of budding mathematicians. Because at the end of his lesson, they gave him a round of applause.