Basic fact mastery is a necessity to learn math. For some kids though, it becomes a source of frustration because it is one of the times when speed counts. I try not to spend much time in class emphasizing speed. Learning for mastery and accuracy tend to be the focus of our week. Nonetheless, Mondays are our day to work on fast facts through mad minutes. With my third graders, we spend the first months of school sharing strategies for facts. We talk about arrays, turn-around facts, finger tricks, patterns, and even songs that help build that fact fluency. We practice facts together each week. With the fourth and fifth graders, I begin to let them have choice. Students must pass their 2's through 12's facts. They get to choose which set to attempt each week. We do 40 problems in a minute and a half. Each child tracks their own progress (of course, I track it too!) and determines which fact to try the next week. Some kids choose to pass the "easy" facts first (2, 5, 10, 11) while others decide to get the "hard" facts out of the way first (7, 12.) Those that finish multiplication move on to division and then onto alternate activities when they complete that. (I have 4-5th graders now that are on track to be done with division by Christmas break!) What happens to those that don't pass? Well, there is a catch - to force the practice, the kids that don't pass each week have to take their mad minute home for extra homework to fix and finish with a pen by Friday. What can you do to help? This is one of the areas where parents can be instrumental in their child's success because I expect that most of the skill and drill for fact fluency happens at home so that we can learn new concepts in class. Practice facts out loud while driving or cooking dinner. Pull out the old fashioned flash cards. Play games (ask them how to play Salute!) Use the computer. All of my students have XTraMath.org accounts. This site is specifically for practicing facts. We use it at school and kids are also welcome to use it at home. Check out the document linked below for other websites that allow for practice. Any help you can give them now will make life in math easier.
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Tracey BeanWerner Elementary Archives
May 2018
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