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Mastering Math Facts

Mastering math facts is a process.

There are ways to practice math facts that support memorizing math facts.

Math facts games can help students efficiently practice math facts while making learning fun. However, memorizing math facts is only as good as the way we help students learn to apply them.

We all know the students who have struggled with mastering math facts. Why is this?

Many students have not been taught problem solving strategies they can use for learning their basic facts.

They have continued to practice math facts and take timed tests instead of developing their conceptual understanding of the foundations of math.

Often they lack number sense and efficient strategies to manipulate numbers.

Memorizing Math Facts

We need our students to be mastering math facts. There is solid research for this:

The research shows students need a conceptual understanding of math fact operations and algorithms:

before drills in each operation begin
after the concepts and algorithms, fact instruction requires brief drills on a daily basis
students need to know the goal is memorizing/mastering math facts
students should focus on a few facts at a time
two key aspects of facts recall are accuracy and speed
teachers need to praise students on progress in memorizing facts, recording individual progress

^{Teaching and Learning Mathematics. 2000. March.}

"Mastery of facts means that students are able to give a response in 3 seconds or less without using inefficient strategies."
^{~Van de Walle, 2001}

You can get free math facts activities created by a 17-year math educator to help with daily practice when you visit Sensible Math Education.

Math Timed Tests and Drills

When we have students practice math facts, is much more than memorizing math facts and being fast.

It is about developing strategies to quickly solve basic computations.

Each student needs strategies he or she can use so this process gains automaticity.

"Do not subject any student to fact drills unless the student has developed an efficient strategy for the fats included in the drill...Drill prior to development of efficient methods is simply a waste of precious instructional time," (Van DeWalle, John A. Elementary and Middle School Math).

Students must have regular, daily practice with their facts.

However...

1. This is not mastering math facts. This is daily practice of skills and strategies students are developing.

2. These tests are not graded. They are practice only. The goal is leading to fluency. The students first work on getting all of the problems correct within a certain time, then they work on increasing their speed.

3. I make sure each student has an efficient strategy for learning math facts (finger counting is not efficient) before allowing them to do a timed "test."

My students view these daily practices more like math fact games.

The problem with rote work comes when it is used exclusively for teaching math facts. Research shows that overemphasizing memorization and frequently administering timed tests is actually counter-productive, (National Research Council, 2001).

Math facts drills and rote work have a purpose, but they are not for teaching children mathematics. They are for practicing strategies they already know.

Never keep a child from moving on with meaningful math experiences simply because they are struggling with their basic facts.

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