Number lines, charts, fingers, and counters will delay memorization of the math facts.

If you are looking for a way to help children learn math facts, but just don't know where to start, read on.

As an educator who taught children with learning disabilities, I have always stressed mastery of the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. I realized that unless the facts are automatic, children will have difficulty learning more advanced math skills, and with solving word problems. This is true also for children without learning disabilities.

My suggestion to anyone teaching the math facts is after the child can demonstrate what addition and subtraction means, first determine which facts the child knows automatically, that is without hesitating or counting. (This can be applied for multiplication and division facts as well.) Make a pack of 3” by 5” cards (flash cards) for each of those correctly answered facts.

Each day, have the children answer those facts and praise them for being able to answer quickly. Assign a few new facts to learn, and repeat the process so that over time, the children master all of the facts. When the stack of cards becomes too large to go through every day, separate the newest ones from the mastered ones, and then practice the mastered ones only once a week.

*Teach children a way to remember the fact, and give them lots of written practice and review along with practicing the fact cards. I designed worksheets using many tricks and strategies because I needed to help my students master the math facts; I wanted them to succeed in math. Eventually, I put my ideas into three books, each intended for any age student still struggling with learning math facts.

*Continue to review the strategies and their names when practicing the math facts.

Two Plus Two Is Not Five: Easy Methods to Learn Addition and Subtraction uses tricks to introduce facts, and then provides many reproducible pages for practice and review. It also has instructions on how to teach the math facts, record-keeping pages, and a certificate of mastery. Children practice the math facts by the trick names throughout the book. You can view sample pages.

Five Times Five Is Not Ten: Make Multiplication Easy uses strategies to introduce multiplication facts and has some addition and subtraction review. There are many reproducible pages for practice and review, and this book has a guide to introduce the math facts, record-keeping pages, and a certificate of mastery. Children practice the math facts by the strategy names throughout the book. You can view sample pages.

A word of advice: Set the pace at the child's ability. Some children will be ready to learn new facts during each practice session; others may not. Keep the child successful. Remember to praise your child!

For specific details on individualizing a math facts program, email us and request a copy of our Free Tip on How to Individualize a Math Facts Program. Tell us if you are a parent or an instructor of a large or small group of students.

Math facts tested in a minute - what are these timed tests really testing?

Adults often assign children arithmetic papers filled with rows of addition or subtraction facts, and perhaps mixed addition and subtraction facts. Sometimes we give the children a set amount of minutes in which to complete these pages, and the children cannot advance to the next stage until they can accurately answer these facts in a specific amount of time. I do not advocate these timed tests before children have memorized answers or have a strategy to use to answer the facts.

I have watched many children take timed tests. There are students who may know the answers automatically, but tend to write slower or are slower by nature to respond. Some of these children could also be the ones that are concerned about neatness; they use time to carefully erase incorrectly formed numerals, and then rewrite answers perfectly. In addition, some children stop to fix their hair when long bangs or hair gets in the way of seeing the page. (I suggest headbands or something to use to tie back hair.)

With this first group, the ability to write fast or stay on task, not math fact knowledge, is tested. Allow another way to test proficiency for these students, who may in fact know the answers without counting, but just cannot seem to complete the page quick enough.

A second group of children tested for speed includes children needing to use fingers, counters, counting in their head, number lines, or charts to get the answers. These children do not know many of the answers, and they are not learning to memorize the facts by taking the timed test. The test measures how quickly and accurately they can count to get answers. I have watched some children in this group get through the first row of facts quickly because they have memorized the sequence of answers. Others, if given the same math fact problem more than once on a page, use a strategy to take the time to search for the answer that is somewhere else on the page. These children ought not to be taking timed tests until we teach them a way to remember the answers.

Just given random written practice, many students will not learn math facts. Timed or not timed, the exercise is frustrating and useless when children do not know answers on the page. Teach them strategies to remember and memorize the math facts. Give children written practice on the math facts they can answer successfully.
 

If you would like more details on teaching the math facts to children, please send an email to Susan at SusanGreenwald@q.com