At first, it may seem like the way Rocket Math presents the same simple facts over and over, is so easy it must be a waste of time.
But like anything you learn, you have to start where it seems easy and then build up to where it is hard. Rocket Math has been effective helping students learn their math facts for over 20 years. It is designed according to scientifically designed learning principles, which is why it works, if students will work it. Rocket Math carefully and slowly introduces facts to learn in such a way that students can achieve fluency with each set of facts as they progress through the alphabet A through Z. Let me explain.

In the Take-Off phase the student is introduced to the two new facts and their reverses. That’s all the student has to answer. But the student has to answer each one instantly. If the student is hesitant on any of those facts (or makes an error) then they have to Start Over and do the Take-Off phase over again. They have to do 12 in a row without an error or a hesitation. Once the Take-Off phase is passed the student goes into the Orbit phase, where there is a mix of recently introduced facts along with the new facts. The student has to answer up to 30 facts, and is allowed only two errors or hesitations. After the third error or hesitation the student has to Start Over on the Orbit Phase. Once the Orbit phase is passed, the student goes on to the Universe phase, which mixes up all the facts learned so far and presents them randomly. Again the student has to do up to 30 problems and can only hesitate on 2 or them or he or she has to start over. But once the student proves that all of those facts can be answered without hesitation, the game moves on to the next level, introducing two more facts and their reverses.
