I remember learning math facts and practicing math fluency each year. I started learning addition, then shortly after subtraction, multiplication, and finally division. I enjoyed learning math facts and I know it helped me in all of my math classes (and probably in everyday life too!). Now, I am finding that fewer and fewer kids know their math facts fluently. Some people may say that math facts don’t need to be memorized and kids need to just understand numbers. I agree that we need to teach kids to understand numbers but I still find it beneficial to teach the basic facts. One thing I disagree with is putting pressure on students to memorize one set of facts a week. Just like in all of my lessons, I truly differentiate teaching math facts. I am going to be discussing how I teach math fluency for multiplication or division BUT this same method works for addition and subtraction.
Get kids excited about learning math facts and let them track their progress. This builds them up to be successful!
How to Start
I start right in the beginning by testing students on multiplication fluency using a pretest. I make sure my students know JUST to answer the questions they know without counting to find an answer. It is “timed” but I really just watch to see if students are counting to get answers. I don’t really have a set time (but I keep this a secret...shhhhh)! This pretest doesn’t count for a grade but I can quickly review it and see the numbers where the students started missing the facts. Whatever number I see them start struggling on, I use as a starting point for that student. (Click here for a free tracking template that will be sent right to your inbox along with some other great freebies). Some students might start the year learning their 2’s and some might start on their 7’s. I have had kids skip multiplication and start on division. Even with division I start with a pretest and follow the same process. Now that I know which students need to practice which facts, I am ready to start our journey.
Weekly Routine that Works for ME
Mondays-Pretest: This takes less than 5 minutes and I quickly grade it. I correct anything that is wrong and hand it back to the students. I indicate on their paper wether to move on to the next number or to continue practicing where they are. They take this paper home and study for their test Friday. Don’t forget to adjust student progress on your chart if they aced the test and you are having them move on.
Tuesday-Thursday-Students take 5 minutes to do a quick math fluency practice. I like freckle.com or xtramath.org . If I don’t get to this during the day, I don’t sweat it because they should be practicing at home too. I like to have them do this as they enter, but some years it has started our math block.
Friday- Posttest: I follow the same procedures as I do with the pre-test. This is important so students get timely, specific feedback and know what to study. I also like them to be able to study over the weekend. Any student that passes the test, gets a “shout out” and gets to move their name on the Class Tracking Posters (Picture Above). This is SO important because we need to celebrate with these students. Don’t forget to adjust student progress on your chart if they aced the test and you are having them move on.
You might be asking what to do with students that don’t move on and start to fall behind. This is when I want teachers to be patient. Keep practicing with them. Give them extra time in class to practice. Teach them other strategies besides multiplication. Not ALL kids will be able to memorize the facts. Sometimes I just have them practice skip counting. They write the numbers at the top of the page when the test begins, then they can use it to answer the questions. Is it slower? YES, but it may be a tool that works for them and they can start to feel successful.
Other ways we have fun practicing facts include:
Fluency War with Playing Cards- Split the deck between two players. They both flip a card at the same time and have to multiply the two numbers. Whoever answers it correctly first wins both cards. Sometimes I give them a multiplication chart in case they need to check their answers BUT that is all they can use it for.
Fluency with Dice: They can play this game a few different ways. Each person takes a turn rolling two dice. Then they add or multiply the numbers and record their answer. They could just add their answers each turn and see who gets the highest score after 10 turns. Or they can race to fill up every box on the chart! The person that fills up each box first wins. Click here to get this chart directly in your inbox along with other great freebies!
Skip Counting and Multiples Posters: Hang these in your classroom for every day reference! There is a Superhero and Monster theme for each!