Online Game

Dr. Don’s 20-point Online Game Checklist

Posted on by Admindon

Checklists have been found to improve accuracy and efficiency in everything from building houses to open-heart surgery.  Although implementing the Rocket Math Online Game is not anywhere near as difficult, this checklist of the things a teacher needs to do to get the program up and running may prove helpful.

Most of the items are linked to the directions for how to accomplish them and why they need doing.  This document (without all the pictures) is also on Google Drive.

Dr. Don’s 20-point Online Game checklist 

For Effective Rocket Math Online Game Implementation

 

Links in this document take you to directions on how to accomplish it and why it is worthwhile to do so. 

SET UP AHEAD OF TIME FROM YOUR DASHBOARD

  1. ____ Schedule Rocket Math sessions at least once a day, preferably twice.
  2. ____ Start students in correct Learning Track. 1-3 Addition * 4th & up Multiplication.
  3. ____ Set session length by  grade level (5 min, 1st-2nd, 10 min 3rd-4th, 15 min-5th and up)
  4. ____ Enable Daily Progress Reports: know who’s completed sessions and who’s passed levels.
  5. ____ Print out Color in Rocket Charts and give it to all students.
  6. ____ Enable Learning Track Alerts—so you can award them as soon as students finish.
  7. ____ Print out Parent Letter—so you can assign this as homework.
  8. ____ Enable Fluency Promotion and Auto-Advance for all students.  
  9. ____ Assign Fluency Testing (1-min Races). Do it the same day each week. 
  10. ____ Post Toughness Certificate to use with those who need help with perseverance.  

BEFORE EACH DAILY SESSION

  1. ____ Group recognition (stand up and take a bow) for students who have done Rocket Math as    homework (more sessions completed than done in class the day before).
  2. ____ Group recognition (stand up and take a bow) for students who’ve improved on 1-minute race. 
  3. ____ Award Star Effort Awards for any who’ve achieved that level of effort. 
  4. ____ Award Learning Track Certificates for any who completed one. 
  5. ____ Give students time to color in their Rocket Charts for parts passed yesterday (see 3). 
  6. ____ Give star stickers for the Wall Chart (if you have it) to students who have passed a level.

DURING EACH DAILY SESSION

  1. View and praise Star Effort screen for several students—note who might earn a certificate.
  2. ____ Walk around and monitor–look at screens and praise students who are working.
  3. ____ Require students to show you their “Session Completed” screen before logging off.
  4. ____Check the difficulty score of students who complain.  If their difficulty score is over 3.0, observe and diagnose their problem or adjust speed. If it’s under 3.0 use Toughness Certificate.

________________________

* After 3rd graders have learned the concept of multiplication, they should be moved ahead into LT. 7 Multiplication

 

Math Fact Benchmarks: Guarantee To Meet Them With Student Effort & Rocket Math Online Game

Posted on by Admindon

Not meeting benchmarks: what should it mean?

When it comes to learning math facts, most students have had no opportunity to learn them in a systematic way.  Unless they have had an extraordinary school or an unusual teacher they have not received structured, systematic learning opportunities to memorize math facts. After three decades working in schools across the country, I know this to be the case.  Without systematic practice and effort, students will not meet math fact benchmarks. They won’t meet the Common Core expectation that students will “know [math facts] by memory.”   Whose fault is that?  It is not the student’s fault, nor the parent’s fault.  So “not meeting benchmark” should mean that here is an area where the school needs to provide some intervention to build fluency.

Are you certain your fluency intervention is effective?

The teacher and the school have an obligation to provide an intervention that is effective.  Some so-called “interventions” do not reliably produce increased fluency.  An essential part of using an intervention is to measure its effectiveness.  [That’s why IEP goals are supposed to have measurable short-term objectives!]  The best way to measure the effectiveness of a fluency intervention is with timed, curriculum-based fluency assessments.

If you measure the same way for the same amount of time, you can see if fluency is increasing. You can see that the student’s fluency is increasing if the student can complete more items during the timed test each time you measure. If the vast majority of all of the students improve in fluency, then you can be certain that the intervention is effective. The graph above shows that for Multiplication, 23,540 students have increased in fluency as they worked through the Rocket Math Online Game.  See evidence from all 16 Learning Tracks here.

Rocket Math Online Game is effective

As students work through the levels in each Learning Track in the Rocket Math Online Game, they are tested after completing the first level (A), then after completing 33% at level I, and then after completing 66% at level R, and then after they finish at level Z.  Each test is a 1-minute fluency test of a random selection of facts taught in that Learning Track.  Therefore, the scores are comparable. When the number goes up at each point in the curriculum, you can be sure that students are increasing in fluency.  The chart to the right shows site-wide data. You can see students improve on average as they work through the Learning Tracks in the Online Game.  You would not expect students to meet benchmarks until they have completed Set Z in the Learning Track.

Math fact fluency benchmarks in the Online Game: 16/minute in addition and subtraction.

The 1-minute RACEs in the Rocket Math Online Game are a good way to measure math fact fluency.  On average students exceed 16 per minute correct at Set Z and the average at the beginning is much less.  So a reasonable benchmark is 16 correct problems per minute.

The teacher can assign a 1-minute RACE at any time and the student will need to do it upon their next login.  The results will be available in the Review Progress screen as well as be exported from the button that gives “Results from Assigned races.”  However, the best measure of whether a student can meet the benchmark is after Set Z, when they have completed the Learning Track.  You can see the score by clicking on the pink button for exporting “Results from Scheduled Races.”

You can see the screenshot of an example of the results from scheduled races for all 16 Learning Tracks across our website.  You can see the Account Average shows improvement at each level.   Those scores after Set Z show that nearly all students are proficient by the end of the Learning Track.  So we know that the Online Game is an effective intervention.  But there’s a catch. At the Level Z test data there are no scores for students who had not completed Set Z in Multiplication.  Students have to actually play the game in order to learn.

Students must participate to learn: monitor and recognize effort

Assigning an effective intervention will not help unless students are engaged and participate.  Instead of reporting on benchmarks of academic achievement, why not report on benchmarks of effort?  Each time students login and complete a session (five, ten or fifteen minutes in length) on the Online Game their session is recorded towards their effort score for the last 14 days.  Students should complete a session every day in school and some at home for homework.  In the effort rating system every four sessions completed earns a star, so 15  completed sessions over the last 14 days earned the student to the left 3 and 1/2 stars.

If you monitor the effort scores and recognize students who are putting forth great effort, you’ll get more students participating.  Completing 12 sessions in the last two weeks is good effort and earns 3 stars.  16 sessions over the last two weeks would earn 4 stars!

You might consider giving out Star Effort Awards (available in the teacher section of the site) once a month for students who are putting forth super-star effort.  If you reward effort, we guarantee you’ll get achievement.   Soon after doing that, you’ll probably have to start awarding Learning Track certificates for students who are completing Learning Tracks. All awards are available on the admin page on Tab (K) in the main rainbow navigation bar.

 

 

 

 

A teacher meets with a father and his son and daughter.

Math Benchmarks: How to Help Your Students Meet Them

Posted on by Miguel Vasquez

Every year, students enter a new math level with new math facts, but what should the students know by the end of each grade? How do teachers measure the success of their students? By using math benchmarks, teachers have a reference point to assess their students’ progress. Rocket Math Online Game and Worksheet Program are great tools to help students meet math benchmarks in every grade.

 

What are Math Benchmarks?

Math benchmarks are standard reference points that can be measured and assessed. Teachers use benchmarks in math to help understand where their students are in their math education and know where they need to be in order to succeed in their grade level.

 

1st Grade Math Benchmarks 

In 1st grade, students focus on learning addition and subtraction up to 20, whole number relationships and grouping, linear measurement and lengths, and geometric shapes.

1. Addition and subtraction up to 20.

1st grade students learn strategies to build math fact fluency for adding and subtracting whole numbers up to 20.

2. Whole number relationships and grouping in tens and ones.

1st grade students learn to compare the whole numbers at least to 100 and be able to understand and solve problems involving their relative sizes.

3. Linear measurement and measuring lengths.

1st grade students learn to understand the meaning and process of measuring including the concepts of iteration and transitivity principle for indirect measurement.

4. Compose and decompose geometric shapes.

1st grade students learn how to compose and decompose geometric shapes, like creating a quadrilateral by putting two triangles together. 

 

2nd Grade Math Benchmarks

In 2nd grade math students focus on developing students’ knowledge of base-ten notation, their fluency with addition and subtraction, standard units of measure, and analyzing shapes. 

1. Base-ten system

2nd grade students learn to count by fives, tens and multiples of hundreds, and learn to recognize which digits represent amounts of thousands, hundreds, tens or ones. E.g. 456 is 4 hundreds + 5 tens + 6 ones.

2. Addition and Subtraction up to 1000

2nd grade students develop their math fact fluency in addition and subtraction up to 1000.

3. Standard units of measure

2nd grade students learn standard units of measure and how to use rulers and other measuring tools.

4. Analyze Shapes

2nd grade students learn how to examine shapes by their sides and angles, and decompose and combine them.

 

3rd Grade Math Benchmarks

In 3rd grade students focus on developing their multiplication and division math facts up to 100, understanding fractions, understanding the structure of rectangular arrays and are, and how to analyze two-dimensional shapes.

1. Multiplication and division math facts up to 100

3rd grade students develop their math fact fluency of multiplication and division of whole numbers up to 100.

2. Fractions and unit fractions

3rd grade students learn unit fractions and fractions and are able to use them to represent numbers equal to, less than, or greater than one.

3. Attribute of two-dimensional regions

3rd grade students learn to find the area of a shape which shows the students how to connect the area to multiplication and how to use multiplication to determine an area of a rectangle.

4. Analyze and compare two-dimensional shapes

3rd grade students compare and classify two-dimensional shapes by their angles and shapes.

 

4th Grade Math Benchmarks

In 4th grade, students focus on developing their math fact fluency in multi-digit multiplication and division, learn math operations with fractions, and understanding geometric figures.

1. Multi-digit multiplication & division

4th grade students understand place value to 1,000,000 and know how to apply multi-digit multiplication and multi-digit division to mentally calculate quotients.

2. Fraction equivalence and operations

4thd grade students learn that two fractions can be the same (e.g. 12/16 = 3/4) and learn how to add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions.

3. Geometric figures

4th grade students learn to describe, analyze, compare and classify two-dimensional shapes. 

 

5th Grade Math Benchmarks 

In 5th grade, students focus on developing fraction operations, learn operations with decimals to 100, and develop an understanding of volume.

1. Math fact fluency of fraction operations

5th grade students learn to apply their understanding of fractions and fraction models to calculate sums and differences of fractions in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

2. Relationship between decimals and fractions

5th grade students learn to multiply and divide between decimals and fractions, and to compute quotients of decimals to 100.

3. Volume

5th grade students learn that volume is an attribute of three-dimensional space and can be measured by finding the total number of units that are needed to fill the space.

 

Not meeting Benchmarks: what should it mean?

When students score as “not meeting benchmark,” it means the school should provide some intervention to help the students learn.  When it comes to learning math facts, most students have had no opportunity to learn them in a systematic way. Unless they have had an extraordinary school or an unusual teacher, they have not received structured, systematic learning opportunities to memorize math facts. After three decades in schools, I know this to be the case. Without systematic practice and effort, most students will not meet math fact benchmarks. They won’t meet the Common Core expectation that students will “know [math facts] by memory.” Whose fault is that? It is not the student’s fault nor the parent’s fault. 

 

Are you certain your fluency intervention is effective?

The teacher and the school should provide, not just any “intervention” but should provide an effective intervention. Some so-called “interventions” do not reliably produce increased fluency. An essential part of using an intervention is to measure its effectiveness. [That’s why IEP goals are supposed to have measurable short-term objectives!] The best way to measure the effectiveness of a fluency intervention is with timed, curriculum-based fluency assessments.

By measuring the same way for the same amount of time period, you can see if fluency increases. If the student can complete more items during the timed test each time you measure, you can see their fluency increase. When a vast majority of your students, or all of your students, improve in fluency, then you can be certain that the intervention is effective.

 

Rocket Math Online Game is effective

Screenshot of Rocket Math's average student scores.

As students work through the levels in each Learning Track in the Rocket Math Online Game, they are periodically assigned fluency tests.  Students are tested after completing levels A, i, and R, and then after they finish level Z. Each test is a 1-minute fluency test of a random selection of facts taught in that Learning Track. Therefore the scores are comparable, and when the number goes up at each point in the curriculum, you can be sure that students are increasing in fluency. As you can see from the site-wide data shown here, students consistently improve in fluency as they work through the Rocket Math Online Game. You would not expect students to meet benchmarks until they have completed Set Z in the Learning Track.

 

Math fact fluency benchmark in the Online Game: 20/minute

Screenshot of Rocket Math's 1 minute results.

The 1-minute RACEs in the Rocket Math Online Game are a good way to measure math fact fluency. You can see from the site-wide averages above that on average, students exceed 20 per minute correct at Set Z, and the average at the beginning is much less. So a reasonable benchmark is 20 correct problems per minute.

The teacher can assign a 1-minute RACE at any time, and the student will need to do it upon their next login. The results will be available in the Review Progress screen and export from the button that gives “Results from Assigned races.” However, the best measure of whether students can meet the benchmark is after Set Z, when they have completed the Learning Track. By clicking on the pink button for exporting “Results from Scheduled races,” the score will appear.

A screen shot of an Excel spreadhseet that shows studen'ts multiplication benchmark progress.To the right is a screenshot of an example of the results from scheduled races from one class of upper elementary students. You can see the Account Average shows improvement at each level. If you set a benchmark at 25, you see all but one of the students met that by the end of Level Z. However, we do see several students who began above that level. (They need not have gone through the Learning Track, but most improved anyway.) After Set Z, those scores show that nearly all students are proficient by the end of the Learning Track. So we know that the Online Game is an effective intervention. But there’s a catch. For this display, we eliminated a lot of students who had not completed Set Z in Multiplication. Students have to play the game to learn.

 

Students must participate to learn: Monitor and Recognize Effort

A screenshot of Rocket Math's mini calendar that shows how students are progressing.Assigning an effective intervention will not help unless students are engaged and participate. Instead of reporting on benchmarks of academic achievement, why not report on benchmarks of effort? Each time students login and complete a session (five, ten, or fifteen minutes in length) on the Online Game, the Review Progress screen will record their session. A mini calendar shows the number of sessions per day. As shown in this screenshot, one student completed 7 sessions on the previous Friday. Another student completed 3 sessions on Sunday. The students below the hard workers, whose mini-calendars showed “F” for Friday and “S” for Sunday, did not complete any sessions because there was no number for those days.

A screenshot of Rocket Math's calendar to show how a student is progressing.Even more discriminative, the Review Progress screen shows the total number of sessions completed in the last two weeks. The picture shows data from our demo accounts. The one for Test3 shows 38 sessions in the last 14 days, while others have only 2 sessions. This total data tells us the level of effort students have been putting forth to learn their math facts. If you monitor this number and recognize students putting forth great effort, you’ll get more students participating. I would say that 10 to 14 sessions in the last two weeks are a good effort. 15 to 24 sessions is a very good effort. Any student with 25 or more sessions in the last two weeks is putting forth great effort and should be recognized as a star!

Screenshot of Rocket Math's reward cards.You might consider giving out Award Certificates once a month for students who are putting forth super-star effort. If you reward effort, we guarantee you’ll get achievement. We have sets of Award certificates available on our supplements store site. Soon after doing that, you’ll probably have to start awarding Learning Track certificates for students who are completing Learning Tracks. Those are available on the Admin page on the light blue tab in the main rainbow navigation bar.

 


Using Rocket Math to Help Students Reach Math Benchmarks

Rocket Math Online Game and Worksheet program will help students reach each grade level math benchmark. By systematically teaching students to be math fact fluency, they will be able to not only succeed but learn to enjoy math.

Effective math teaching strategies help students of all levels be successful at math.

2nd Grade Math Games to Teach Math Facts

Posted on by Miguel Vasquez

What Math Facts Should Students Know By 2nd Grade?

Students entering 2nd grade should have memorized basic addition facts to a high level of fluency. There should be no hesitations and no finger counting. But not every first-grade teacher has the skill or tools to help students effectively memorize addition facts.  Attempting to teach subtraction facts and the process of subtraction to students who did not successfully memorize addition is VERY difficult. Like, so hard as to cause tears, and not just from the students! Rocket Math offers 2nd grade math worksheets and 2nd grade math games.

 

What is Covered in 2nd Grade Math?

In 2nd grade, teachers need to help students master at least four math skills in three steps. It’s important that 2nd graders learn these skills in the correct order because each step is dependent on the completion of the prior step. 

 

Step 1. Fully memorize addition facts.

Second-grade teachers must ensure that students have fully memorized the basic addition facts. Most 2nd grade math games will not accomplish this goal. Memorizing addition facts early in the year is crucial because the class needs time to do the next two steps during the year. For this reason, the 2nd-grade teacher needs a systematic, effective, and efficient math facts learning curriculum, such as Rocket Math. If the 2nd-grade teacher is lucky, that was accomplished during first grade. If it was not, it still must be done. 

 

Step 2. Master addition computation while memorizing subtraction facts.

Second-grade teachers must ensure that students master addition computation up to three digits. If students are automatic with the addition facts, this process becomes easy and fun for students. Rocket Math’s Learning Addition Computation worksheet program is a systematic way of teaching computation skills. 

The 2nd grade teacher also needs to help their students memorize basic subtraction facts. Learning subtraction facts should not be attempted until students have memorized addition facts fully. Because time is of the essence, a teaching tool with a systematic method of teaching facts efficiently and effectively is needed. Rote memorization is the best method. However, the teacher can have students work on memorizing subtraction facts while working on addition computation. 

Step 3. Master subtraction computation.

Second-grade teachers must ensure that students master subtraction computation up to three digits, with and without regrouping. If students are automatic with the subtraction facts, this process becomes easy and fun. Rocket Math’s Learning Subtraction Computation worksheet program is a systematic way of teaching computation skills. 

What Should 2nd Graders Know Before Entering 3rd Grade Math?

Before going into 3rd-grade, students should be able to read and write numbers up to 1,000 and have developed a comfortable number sense of numbers up to 100. 2nd graders need to memorize addition and subtraction facts and be comfortable completing addition and subtraction computations. Before 3rd grade, 2nd graders need to start learning how to skip count as a precursor to learning multiplication and have learned the concept of multiplication (be able to figure out a multiplication fact). Rocket Math has a worksheet-based version of Skip Counting that students enjoy. They also sell Skip Counting Flashcards, which I’ve never seen anywhere else. 

Rocket Math 2nd Grade Math Worksheets & 2nd Grade Math Game

Both Rocket Math Worksheet Program and Rocket Math Online Game are great tools that will help students learn their math facts. Each program has a different way of teaching, but the idea and ultimate goal for both are the same; students learn math fact fluency and can recall answers instantly. Teachers can choose one or both of these programs to help their 2nd grade students be successful in math.

H3: 2nd Grade Math Worksheets

Students practice math facts using the Rocket Math Worksheet program.

The Rocket Math Worksheet Program is uniquely effective by using paired practice and having students saying the facts aloud. Students partner up and practice quickly recalling facts together. One student reads the problems and answers from memory. The checker watches for when their partner hesitates to answer. He or she then gives his or her partner more opportunities to practice the “hesitant” facts.

 

The students switch roles, and after both have answered questions, they take a one minute test on the facts that they have learned so far. If students answer as fast as their fingers will carry them, they pass the level and move on to the next worksheet in the sequence.

 

Learn Addition and Subtraction facts with  these Worksheet Programs for 2nd Graders

For 2nd Grade math students, it’s essential that they master addition math facts and begin learning subtraction math facts. Here are the addition and subtraction fact Worksheet Programs 2nd graders will need to work through. They are listed in the order of priority.  Few students will finish all six in one year, but the more they accomplish the better they will know these facts.

 

(1) Addition (1s to 9s) (3) Fact Families (+, -) to 10 (5) Add to 20 

(e.g., 13+6, 4+11, 15+5)
(2) Subtraction (1s to 9s) (4) Fact Families (+, -) from 11 (6) Subtract from 20 (e.g., 18-15, 15-5, 19-8)

 

Rocket Math Online Game

Students and teacher playing multiplication games with dice sitting in a circle in a classroom

In addition to worksheets, schools of education tell teachers to use games to “teach” math facts. Unfortunately, most games and fun activities do not help individual students learning math facts to the level of fluency. These games, such as bingo or dice, have several problems:

  •  Students spend most of their time waiting for their turn rather than practicing facts.
  • They do not focus on teaching a small group of facts in a manner that helps students commit them to memory.
  •  The games do not adjust to an individual student’s level of fluency.
  • Students can pace the game slowly enough to have time to figure out facts rather than requiring recall.
  •  It is difficult to keep every student engaged, as those behind are less likely to participate.

Rocket Math Online Game is an Effective Way to Teach Math Fact Fluency

Student holding tablet with a math fact fluency app by Rocket Math

Unlike card or dice games, some online math games are very effective at building math fact fluency. Games such as the Rocket Math Online Game have several important features that make a big difference.

  1. Every student is engaged —not waiting for a turn.
  2. Students learn only a few facts at a time, enabling memorization and recall.
  3. The game provides lots of focused practice on each set of facts. 
  4. Students only get enough time to use recall to come up with the answers.
  5. The game gives an immediate correction and extra practice on any facts that students cannot answer quickly.
  6. The game only introduces new facts once students demonstrate mastery of prior facts.
  7. The game gives students explicit feedback so they have a sense of accomplishment.

 

Learn Addition and Subtraction facts with  these Online Game Learning Tracks for 2nd Graders

Compared to the Worksheet Program, the Online Game moves students through the Learning Tracks much faster–in a few weeks, rather than months. Therefore you can send every one of the same age through in the same order. For 2nd graders, this is the online game learning track recommended by Rocket Math:

  • Addition (1s – 9s)
  • Subtraction (1s – 9s)
  • Fact Families (+, -) to 10.
  • Fact Families (+, -) from 11.
  • Add to 20.
  • Subtract from 20.

2nd grade math games are a great way to teach students their addition and subtraction facts. Just be sure to find ones like Rocket Math that understand the importance of fact fluency and instant recall. 

Teacher standing in front of class teaching finding factors.

Rocket Math’s Foolproof Method to Finding Factors (A.K.A. Factor Pairs)

Posted on by Admindon

In order for a student to expand or reduce fractions or to add and subtract unlike fractions, they need to know how to find factors for each number in the fraction. Students may know multiplication facts, but still, find it difficult to come up with all the possible factor pairs for a given number. The key to helping students with this task is to teach students a systematic method of identifying all factor pairs and then committing both the process and some common numbers to memory.  

Both the Rocket Math Online Game and Worksheet Program uses a foolproof, systematic method for teaching students how to find all the factors of a number. By reading this article, you’ll learn what factors are, how to help students find all the factors systematically, and how both the game and worksheets incorporate the method into each program.

 

What are Factors of a Number

Factors of a number, such as 12, are pairs of whole numbers whose product is that number. For example, 2 x 6 = 12, 12 is the product, and the factor pair is 2 x 6. Other factor pairs for 12 include 1 x 12 and 3 x 4 because multiplied together, each of those factor pairs equals 12. 

 

Finding Factors: How do You Know When You Have Found all of them?

Identifying some of the factors of a target number isn’t hard, but knowing when you have accounted for ALL the factors can be hard for students. Rocket Math’s Worksheet Program helps students find and memorize all the factors for 22 common numbers. Watch this video to see how Dr. Don uses the worksheet program to teach students how to find all of a number’s factors in a systematic way.

Worksheet finding the factors of the number 15.

  1. The best method for teaching students how to find factor pairs is to have them start at 1 and work their way up. Give your students a target number and ask them to put “1 x” below it. Let them fill in the right side with the number itself. We know that any number has one “factor pair” of 1 times itself. 
  2. Then ask them to move on to 2, and ask themselves, “What number times 2 equals the target number?” If the target number is even, there will be a number on the right-hand side of that pair. If the target number is odd (like 15), there won’t be, and the student should cross out the 2, as it is not a factor of the target number.
  3. Next, the student moves on to 3. They ask themselves, “What number times 3 equals 15?” Because 3 x 5 equals 15, students write 5 down because that is the next factor pairing 15. 
  4. Next, students move on to 4. They ask themselves, “What number times 4 equals 15?” When students run across a number that is not a factor of the target number, they should cross it out. So they cross out the 4.
  5. The next number is 5, but it is already showing on the right side of the factor pairs. When that happens, students can be sure they have found all the factor pairs of the target number.

In the end, students will be left with a list of factor pairs that multiply to create the target and a list of crossed-out numbers that are not factors.

 

Rocket Math Online Game – Finding Factors & Primes Track

Building on what the Worksheet Program has to offer students, Learning Track #15 (Factors & Primes) of the Rocket Math Online Game helps students systematically identify, practice, and memorize factor pairs of every number from 2 through 40 and 42, 45, 48, 49, 50, 64, 72, 75, and 100.

 

Students answer with the NEXT factor pair in order

Example of Rocket Math's Finding Factors worksheet.The Learning Track Factors and Primes has a unique way of teaching students the factors. Students learn the factor pairs, in order, starting with 1 and itself. For example the factor pairs of 36, in order, are 1 x 36, 2 x 18, 3 x 12, 4 x 9 and 6 x 6.   Students are shown some factor pairs in the display (see problems displayed in N.1 through O.1). They must either enter the next factor pair in order or hit the checkmark if there are no more pairs. You can see the five problems that deal with the factors of 36 that students encounter in the Factors and Primes Learning Track.  

When students see problem N.1 displaying “Factors of 36, 1 x 36” they learn that the next factor pair is 2 x 18, so they enter a 2, a 1, and an 8, and the game displays them as shown.  If the student does not enter the next correct factor pair, the game’s audio voice recording (called Mission Control) says, “The factors of 36, in order, are 1 times 36 then, 2 times 18. Go again.” The game then provides an opportunity to answer that problem again, twice, and then interspersed with other problems, twice more before the game considers that pair of factors learned.    

When students see problem O.1 they see all the factor pairs of 36 displayed. They know that they have all the factor pairs because the same number is in the left-hand column and the right-hand column. Students are to hit the checkmark √, to indicate there are no more factor pairs. The game’s audio voice recording correction is, “There are no more factors of 36. Just hit the checkmark. Go again.”

 

Prime numbers

An example of the Rocket Math's Finding Prime numbers worksheet.Any of the numbers that students learn are prime numbers will begin with the first factor pair of 1 times the number itself. For example, in problem, O.2 students see “Factors of 37. 1 x 37.”  Students are to hit the checkmark to indicate that a number is a prime number.  The game’s audio voice correction is, “37 is a prime number because its only factors are 1 times itself. Just hit the checkmark. Go again.”  In this manner, students learn all the prime numbers from 2 to 40 in this Learning Track.  

Students should learn their multiplication and division facts first before working on Factors and Primes. Once those are mastered in the Online Game, students who are already trying to find the greatest common denominators in working with fractions the Factors & Primes Learning Track will help them greatly.  They will exit knowing the factor pairs of these most common numbers and they will find this work much easier.

 

Make finding factors easier (and more fun!) for your students with Rocket Math

With Rocket Math’s Factor Worksheet and the Online Game, your students can say goodbye to slow progress and hit-and-miss strategies. The Worksheet and Online Game can be used separately or in tandem for extra practice.

Get Rocket Math’s Factor Worksheet!   

Try Learning Track #15 (Factors & Primes) of the Rocket Math Online Game for Free!

 

The Online Game never teaches anything wrong.

Posted on by Admindon

Are your students complaining that the Online Game said they were wrong, when they were right?  This is similar to a problem we found with students and their checkers in the Worksheet Program. Bear with me a second while I explain.

In the Worksheet Program students often complain to their teacher that their checker made them do the problem over, even though they weren’t wrong.  Trying to adjudicate such a dispute is nearly impossible, as veteran teachers have learned the hard way.  The extra practice didn’t hurt the students and you’re going to be inundated with complaints if you try to adjudicate them. In workshops we always counseled teachers to respond to such complaints with, “The checker is always right.  Just do the problem over again.”

The extra practice that the Online Game) makes a student do is never harmful.  The problem and the answer that Mission Control gives is never wrong.  When students complain to you about the game telling them a right answer was wrong, just tell the student, “The game is always right. Just do the problem over again.”

The Online Game only says right answers, so it’s not wrong.

The correction procedure says both the problem and the correct answer.   Students may say, “But, that’s what I put!” They are not confused. They are just complaining that they were “unjustly” corrected.  An unjust correction is relatively unimportant compared to an actual error.

The program never says a student’s answer is “wrong.”  The game does a correction whenever it does not process the correct answer within the time limit.  The student may hit the correct answer just a fraction of a second too late to be processed by the game. Even though correct, the game will say “Time’s Up” and do a correction.

Sometimes a student misses the button they mean to hit, they make a “typo,” and the game buzzes and the screen shakes “no.” Sometimes, a glitch occurs and it skips ahead to the next problem and processes the last answer as incorrect. However, the game can only say a problem and its correct answer as those are the only words that are recorded.  There are no recorded errors.  For example the game will say, “Six plus two equals eight. Go again.”  After that the game waits for the student to enter the correct answer AND waits for the student to hit the checkmark. No amount of arguing, “But that is what I put!” or “But that wasn’t the problem I was answering” will change it.

The extra practice caused by an “unjust correction” is not harmful.

Students should listen to Mission Control while it is displaying and saying a problem and the correct answer.  Then the game will show the problem just stated without the answer.  Students will know what they should do. They should just enter the answer and hit the checkmark.  Students should just do the problem over again regardless of whether or not they think they entered the right answer.  The game never says anything incorrect and the extra practice won’t hurt them. While an unjust red “X” for an error seems terrible to students, it will not do anything other than give them more practice, which is good for them.

We  offer a $50 gift certificate to the store of your choice if you can capture an error by the game on video, as we have never seen the game make an error and can’t replicate the problem.

Rocket Math's math facts app progress screenshot

Best Math Facts App Comparison: Rocket Math vs. XtraMath

Posted on by Admindon

A math facts app is a great tool to use for your students. There are plenty of math facts apps out there that let students practice math facts they have already learned. Few apps actually teach math facts. But apps from Rocket Math and XtraMath are exceptions. While both apps teach students math facts, one is more effective and fun.

The two best apps for actually teaching math facts

Math facts apps from Rocket Math and XtraMath effectively teach math facts because they have four essential characteristics:

  1. Both math facts apps require students to demonstrate fluency with facts. Fluency means a student can quickly answer math fact questions from recall. This is the opposite of letting a student “figure it out” slowly. Neither app considers a fact mastered until a student can answer a fact consistently within 3 seconds.
  2. Both math facts apps zero in on teaching (and bringing to mastery) a small number of facts at a time. This is the only way to teach math fact fluency. It’s impossible for students to learn and memorize a large number of facts all at once.
  3. Both math facts apps are responsive. Apps simply do not teach if they randomly present facts or do not respond differently when students take a long time to answer a fact.
  4. Both math facts apps only allow students to work for a few minutes (15 minutes or less) before taking a break. Teachers and parents may want to keep students busy practicing math facts for an hour, but students will come to hate the app if they have long sessions. A few minutes of practice in each session is the best way to learn and to avoid student burnout.
  5. Both math facts apps re-teach the fact if a student makes an error. While both Rocket Math and XtraMath re-teach facts, they re-teach them differently.

While both apps contain these important features and teach math facts, there are a few vital elements that make an effective app like Rocket Math stand out.

An effective math facts app gives a student a sense of accomplishment

The difficult thing about learning math facts is persevering. There are so many to learn! It takes a while, and students have to persevere through boring memorization tasks. The best way to help students learn their math facts is to give them a clear sense of accomplishment as they move through each task.

How XtraMath monitors progress

To develop a sense of accomplishment among its app users, XtraMath displays math facts on a grid. XtraMath tests the student and marks the ones that are answered quickly (within 3 seconds) with smiley faces. It takes a couple of sessions to determine what has been mastered and what hasn’t, so there isn’t a sense of accomplishment at first. This grid is displayed and explained, but it’s not easy to monitor progress. Over time, there are fewer squares with facts to learn, but there isn’t clear feedback on what’s being accomplished as students work.

How Rocket Math monitors progress

Screen shot of Mission Accomplished in the Rocket Math math facts app

Conversely, Rocket Math begins recognizing student progress immediately and continues to celebrate progress at every step. The Rocket Math app begins with Set A and progresses up to Set Z. Each lettered set has three phases: Take-Off, Orbit, and the Universe. That means there are 78 milestones celebrated in the process of moving from Set A to Set Z.

The Take-Off phase has only 4 problems to learn. They are repeated until the student gets 12 correct in a row. When the student does that, the doors close (with appropriate sound effects) to show “Mission Accomplished.” They also are congratulated by one of a cast of voices. Something along the lines of, “Mission Control here. You did it! Mission Accomplished! You took off with Set A! Go for Orbit if you dare!” With this type of consistent (and fun!) recognition, students clearly understand that they are progressing, and they get the chance to keep learning “if they dare!”

Congratulation screen shot from Rocket Math's math facts app

In addition to the three phases, students progress through the sets from A to Z. Each time a student masters a set, by going through all three phases, the student gets congratulated and taken to their rocket picture, as shown above. When a level is completed, the tile for that level explodes (with appropriate sound effects) and drops off the picture, gradually revealing more of the picture as tiles are demolished.

In the picture above, the tile for “N” has just exploded. After the explosion, a student is congratulated for passing Level N and encouraged to go for Level O if they dare. When you talk to students about Rocket Math, they always tell you what level they have achieved. “I’m on Level K!” a student will announce with pride. That sense of accomplishment is important for them to keep chugging along. Rocket Math also has available Learning Track certificates from Dr. Don and the teacher for completing through Level Z.

An effective math facts app corrects errors—correctly

Neither of these math fact apps allows errors to go uncorrected. Students will never learn math facts from an app that does not correct errors. That puts these two apps head and shoulders above the competition. However, these two apps correct errors very differently.

How XtraMath corrects errors

On the left, you can see the XtraMath correction is visual. If a student enters the wrong answer, the app crosses the incorrect answer out in red and displays the correct answer in gray. A student then has to enter the correct answer that they see. This is a major mistake. In this case, students don’t have to remember the answer. They just have to enter the numbers in gray.

How Rocket Math corrects errors

comparison of two screen shots from Rocket Math’s math facts app

Rocket Math, however, requires the student to remember the answer. When a student answers incorrectly, the screen turns orange, and Mission Control displays and recites the correct problem and answer. In the pictured situation, Mission Control says, “Seven times nine is sixty-three. Go again.” Then the answer clears, and the game waits for the student to enter the correct answer. Under these conditions, the student has to listen to the correction and remember the answer, so they can enter it correctly.

Once the student correctly answers that target problem, the app presents the problem again. Then it presents it twice more interspersed with other problems.

If the student answers the previously missed problem correctly within the three seconds, the game notes the error, and the student continues through the phase. If the student fails to answer the problem correctly again, the correction process repeats until the student answers correctly. Having to listen to and remember the answer, rather than just copy the answer, helps students learn better.

An effective math facts app gives meaningful feedback

Without feedback, students can’t learn efficiently and get frustrated. But the feedback cannot be generic. It has to dynamically respond to different student behavior.

How XtraMath’s app gives feedback

XtraMath’s charming “Mr. C” narrates all of the transitions between parts of each day’s lesson. He welcomes students, says he is happy to see them, and updates students on their progress. He gives gentle, generic feedback about how you’re getting better and to remember to try to recall the facts instead of figuring them out. However, his feedback remains the same no matter how you do. In short, it is non-contingent feedback, which may not be very meaningful to students.

How Rocket Math’s app gives feedback

Time's up screenshot of the Rocket Math math facts app

Differing from XtraMath, Rocket Math offers students a lot of feedback that is contingent. Contingent feedback means that students will receive different types of feedback depending on their responses.

The Rocket Math app gives positive feedback for all the 78 accomplishments noted above. It also doles out corrective feedback when the student isn’t doing well.

As noted above, students receive corrective feedback on all errors. They get feedback when they take longer than three seconds to answer too. The “Time’s Up” screen on the right pops up, and Mission Control says, “Ya’ gotta be faster! Wait. Listen for the answer.” And then the problem and the correct answer are given. Students get a chance to answer that fact again soon and redeem themselves–proving they can answer it in 3 seconds.

Keep Trying screen shot of Rocket Math math facts app

The app tracks errors, and three errors mean the student needs more practice on this part. The doors close (with appropriate sound effects). The student is given encouragement that they have defeated three hard problems and a challenge to “Keep Trying” if they are tough enough. At that point, the “go” screen appears, and the student has to hit “go” to open the doors (with appropriate sound effects) and try it again.

When it comes to recognizing a student’s success, the Rocket Math app holds nothing back. After a student completes a phase, one of the cast of voices gives enthusiastic congratulations, as noted above.

Typically, students don’t have to “Keep Trying” more than once or twice in a phase, but they still feel a real sense of accomplishment when they do complete the phase. The feedback students get from Rocket Math matters because they have to work hard to earn it.

How much does an effective math facts app cost?

It is hard to beat the price of XtraMath, which has a free version. It is $2 per student to have a few more options and $500 per school. XtraMath is run by a non-profit based in Seattle. They have a staff of six folks in Seattle, and they do accept donations. Their product is great, and they are able to give it away.

Rocket Math is run by one person, Dr. Don, with part-time help from two friends. He supports the app, its development, and himself with the proceeds. He answers his own phone and is happy to talk with teachers about math facts. The Rocket Math Online Game is a good value at $3 a year per seat (when ordering 100 or more seats). Twenty to 99 seats are $4 each. And fewer than 20 seats cost $5 each per year. As one principal customer of Rocket Math said, “We used to have XtraMath. We’d rather pay a little bit more for Rocket Math because the kids like it a lot better.” Another teacher reported, “My students are loving this program. I was using Xtra math, but now they are in love with Rocket Math!”

Prove that students using the Rocket Math Online Game are improving in fact fluency!

Posted on by Admindon

Document improved fluency by assigning a 1-minute RACE.

We have a feature that will allow you to assign a fluency test to all or some of your students. We call it a “1-minute RACE.”

To Assign a Fluency Test 1-Minute RACE:

1) Select the students to whom you want to assign the test RACE, or Select All.

2) Click on the orange Bulk Action button.

3) Pull down to “Assign 1-min RACE on next login.”

After doing that, in your dashboard you will see that the 1-minute race has been assigned on the next login. 
The next time those students login, they will be given the mission of doing a 1-minute race with ALL the facts in the Learning Track they are studying. They can skip facts they don’t know, by hitting the checkmark.

Here’s what the students experience.

A 1-minute test RACE is also automatically SCHEDULED after Sets A, i, R, and Z. See their latest results in Review Progress!

Assign a 1-minute RACE individually also–at any time you wish.

You can assign a 1-minute RACE at any time for specific individuals as well, using the green Individual Action button at the end of their row.

 

  • Export the test RACE results in spreadsheets. 

    • Separate exports for results from RACEs you Assign from the RACEs that are Scheduled after working through some levels in the Online Game (After sets A, i, R, and Z).

  • See averages across your class or school. 

    • Each spreadsheet will show the average for your class as a teacher or for the school in the account of the Subscription Manager or owner.  There are separate averages for each Learning Track.

  • See trends over time.

    • You’ll see the improvement each student makes from the beginning after Set A to each of the subsequent tests RACES.
A student thinks through an equation by recalling their math facts.

Teaching Math Fact Fluency | Why Rote Learning Works best

Posted on by Admindon

Developing math fact fluency requires memorization and enables success in math

In case you have any doubt, every set of official recommendations about elementary math recognizes that children need to “know facts from memory,” which is to say recall. Memorization is required to develop math fact fluency or easy, automatic recall. Teaching math fact fluency is necessary, of course, for fluent computation. Math fact fluency is also required for understanding and manipulating fractions. Instant recall of math facts is required to be able to recognize when the calculator is not showing the right answer. How students should learn facts, and when they should begin the process is not as well understood.

What Students must know before beginning to memorize math facts

Students need to understand the operation, whether it is addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, before they begin to memorize the math facts in that operation. What does it mean to say a student “understands” an operation? It means that given some time, they can figure out the answer to a math fact problem in that operation. A student who can add 8 and 7 and get the answer of 15 by drawing lines or counting on their fingers understands the operation. A student who can add 6 five times to get 30 understands multiplication well enough to begin learning answers. Really if you think about math facts, there are only two things to know: how to figure it out and what the answer is. Once students can “figure it out,” then all that’s left is memorizing the answer, so they don’t have to keep figuring it out over and over!

What students do NOT need to know before beginning memorization

There is a very widespread belief that students must play around with math facts before they begin memorization. That they need to experience a variety of ways of figuring out facts. Or that they need to first learn relationships among facts, like the doubles or doubles plus one. It is believed they need to do these before they begin memorization. Yes, done poorly, timed tests of ALL the facts without a program of instruction, is bad for students. Timed tests without learning results in students reconfirming their worst fears, that they are “bad at math.” That is counter-productive. We want students to develop confidence in their ability to learn and do the math. But do they need to play a lot of games or spend a lot of time figuring out math facts?  Maybe not.

Experimental Research has NEVER Shown the Necessity of Games.

Some advocates suggest that students must learn how to figure out facts “efficiently” before beginning memorization. But there is no cognitive difference between being able to figure out a fact efficiently or inefficiently. John A. Van de Walle, an author of “developmental” and “student-centered” math textbooks, is quite emphatic. He says,”Do not subject any student to fact drills unless the student has developed an efficient strategy for the facts included in the drill. … Drill prior to development of efficient methods is simply a waste of precious instructional time,” (Van de Walle, John A. Elementary and Middle School Math).

It is a bold claim, but not one that is backed up by any experimental evidence. Proponents like Van de Walle often cite “research” to “prove” that students must explore and play with numbers before memorization can begin. The “research”  citations are not experimental studies with control groups. They are simply recommendations or observations of what students do when they try to memorize on their own. 

It is true that if there is no systematic instruction, students will start finding ways to remember facts on their own. These little techniques are not bad in themselves but are abandoned when students finally learn the facts. When you can instantly recall the answer to a fact, you know it without going through any intervening thought. In fact, there’s no time for that. If you know that 8 plus 9 is 17 in a straight recall, instantly, you don’t need anything else. You no longer benefit from thinking through that “8 plus 8 is 16 and since 8 plus 9 is one more, the answer is one more than 16 or 17.”

 

Real research into teaching math fact fluency is desperately needed.  

An interesting experiment, that has never been done, would be to put randomly selected students into two groups after they had learned how to figure out an operation. One group could do these various non-rote, playing with numbers activities. That play-time would be followed with a program of memorization of math facts. The second group would go ahead with the program of memorization without bothering with all exploratory activities. Rocket Math would gladly fund such a research study and provide the math facts practice materials to do it. Seriously, which group do you think would have learned the facts soonest?

Common Non-Rote Activities that Just Waste Time

Students and teacher playing multiplication games with dice sitting in a circle in a classroom, to learn math facts.

Dice. 

The various types of activities that have students roll dice and add numbers together are usually a waste of time. Generally, most of the students are not doing math at all; they are just watching. The ones who are doing math, are just practicing figuring out the facts–but that’s something they already knew.

Cards.

Some recommendations include having children play cards–hoping they will learn more about numbers by doing that.  If you don’t know math facts, you will find playing most card games that involve combinations to be difficult.  You might start trying to remember some common combinations on your own.  That does not help you memorize facts any faster, however.

Combinations.  

One popular idea is having students make up combinations of numbers that add up to ten. Here’s an example of one version. Use a large dice and a whiteboard with a blank number bond drawn on it. Put the number 10 in the middle circle, and tell the students that you are going to make a number bond that equals 10. Roll the dice, and whatever number comes up, it goes into the top circle. The students then have to decide what number goes in the bottom circle to complete the bond.

Here is another variation of the same thing.  Set up three hula hoops in the yard. Take ten students at a time and roll the dice. Four of them moved into one hula hoop and the other six crowded into the other. Then have them get back together as a group of ten. Roll the dice again, and then have them split into two pairs again. It may take several rounds of this moving in variations of 10 before the students “get it.”

No time left to teach math fact fluency.

These activities take up a lot of valuable instructional time, to no clear end. The real result of these recommended activities is that teachers NEVER get enough time to work on memorization of facts. In the United States, a huge percentage of our children are not fluent in math facts or computation or the prerequisite skills for algebra. These games and activities waste the time needed to actually develop math fact fluency.

How to Improve Math Fact Fluency with Rote Learning

Students can only memorize a few facts at a time.  Almost no one can memorize ten similar facts at the same time.  Instruction must introduce a careful sequence of a few facts at a time, followed by plenty of practice.  Well-designed instruction makes memorization easy.  Students can instantly recall the answers to facts they have committed to long-term memory.  Facts introduced too quickly can overwhelm a student’s memory capacity.  The task requires a steady process of accumulating these facts over several weeks.  Students learn at a pace based on their ability.  Everyone can memorize the facts, but just not all at the same speed.  Everyone can do rote learning, but it takes time and patient practice.

How to Get Kids to Memorize Math Facts (And Love Doing It!)

A student holds up their Rocket Math score sheet, which teaches math fact fluency to students.

There isn’t anything less intrinsically interesting than learning math facts. However, students and teachers commonly tell me that “doing Rocket Math” is their favorite time of the day. Why is that?  Both the Rocket Math worksheets and the new Online Game are designed to carefully introduce facts at a rate based on student learning. Students are continuously successful and are not overwhelmed.

A second reason students love Rocket Math are its built-in milestones.  As they achieve them, students can recognize the progress they are making. Students love feeling themselves achieving mastery–it is fun. They know they are in school to learn, and they love it when they can tell that they are learning. Far from being harmful, learning math facts can help build the self-esteem of all students. Not to mention making math easier in the long run. Don’t let anyone tell you that you have to postpone this important aspect of your students’ education.

**Nor do the proponents of these various math activities and games say which grades should do these and which ones should stop playing games and get to memorizing. Consequently, many teachers keep doing these games all the way through elementary school and never do get around to the memorization part.

 

20 years of Rocket Math shows that going straight to memorization works fine

Teachers have been using, and students have been learning from Rocket Math for over 20 years, without first doing these games, and not having any problems. You can too. Try it for yourself and see. We have a 60-day free trial of Rocket Math Online Game. Call us if you need an extension.  

Student solving a basic addition equation.

Online Math Drills to Help Develop Math Fact Fluency

Posted on by Admindon

What are Math Drills? 

Math drills are exercises given to students that can help improve their speed and ease of recall. The goal of math drills is to help students develop automaticity, allowing them to instantly recall from memory the answer to any math fact. If carefully designed timed math drills can help check which facts the student has learned and which ones the student needs to work on. If not carefully designed, they can be a terror to children. Carefully designed math drills in the elementary grades can smooth the way for easy success later on in math.

Why Is Math Fact Fluency Important? 

Math fact fluency is important because it is the first step to developing automaticity. Automaticity frees up the students’ short term memory for more important questions. It means students can answer basic math facts like 7 x 9 or 4 + 8 instantly, by recall without effort. Students who aren’t fluent in math facts, have to stop and figure out facts, and then won’t be able to focus on higher-order math lessons. This could lead to them missing parts of the instruction.

How Do Online Math Drills Help Children Develop Math Fact Fluency?

Correctly recalling the answer to a math fact strengthens the neural connection between the problem such as 9 plus 7, and its answer, 16. [Note that repeating a fact over and over does not achieve the same result. Finding the answer in memory and producing it is what strengthens that connection.] Math drills that ask students to recall answers to a couple of targeted facts, mixed in with other facts the student already knows, makes those neural connections stronger until they can answer those targeted facts correctly, and eventually without any conscious thought. The curriculum should not go on to target any more new facts to learn until the student is fluent with the ones learned so far. A computer program is able to patiently provide this practice for as long as each student needs, which is wonderful.

Why are Math Tests Timed?

Math tests are timed to tell if students are solving math facts by recall rather than deriving the answer. By timing the tests, teachers can tell which students are able to recall answers instantly and which ones need more help to develop automaticity.

Before I understood this, I made students do pages of mixed math facts, which they did by figuring them out.  However, that practice was not helping them become fluent. Timing those pages of mixed facts would not have helped either. In graduate school, I was taught the learning principles that would help students develop fluency. Students need to focus on a small number of facts so they can recall them. So math drills should be composed of a carefully selected set of facts.  This is the key to the design of Rocket Math and is why it works so well.

What Kind Of Drills Should Your Child Do?

At the very least, your child should learn the basic 1s through 9s math facts of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. These will make a huge difference in your child’s success in math. However, if you want to help your child become really proficient and confident in math, there are more things you can drill at each grade level.

Kindergarten Math Drills

Kindergarteners need to be able to count objects as well as rote count. They should practice counting up to 20, at least, and counting by tens to 100. They should learn how to write the numerals and be given drills to practice numeral formation. Obviously this is not something that can be practiced online, but a good writing practice program such as Rocket Writing for Numerals will set your child up for success.

1st Grader Math Drills

In first-grade, learning how to count and write numerals is assumed. The key skill to drill on in first-grade is addition facts 1 through 9. Once those are learned, children can drill on addition facts to 20, such as 13+6, or 4+15. You can also drill first-grade students on fact families, which combine addition and subtraction facts. A fact family example is 3+2, 2+3, 5-2, 5-3. In first-grade fact families (+, -) up to 10 is a reasonable amount to learn.

2nd Grader Math Drills

If addition skills from first-grade are mastered, then drilling on subtraction facts 1s through 9s are the top priority. Once those are learned, students will benefit from drilling up to the 20s in subtraction, such as 17-5 or 19-8. You can also drill second-grade students on fact families, which combine addition and subtraction facts. In second-grade, once fact families up to 10 are mastered, you can drill them on fact families from 11, such as 8+5, 5+8, 13-5, 13-8. Skip counting, or counting by a number (such as by fours- 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40), is useful to learn in second-grade. Also, second-grade is not too soon to begin drilling students on identifying fractions.

3rd Grader Math Drills

Starting in third-grade multiplication facts is essential from this point onward and can’t be counted on fingers. The basic multiplication facts 1 through 9 must be memorized and drills are the only way to do that. Even if addition and subtraction are not yet mastered it is essential to get multiplication facts learned. Then you can go back and pick up addition and subtraction.

Alternatively, or additionally, students can begin drilling on fact families in multiplication and division. An example of this kind of fact family is 4 x5 , 5 x 4, 20 ÷ 4, 20 ÷ 5. Fact families up to 20 are enough in third-grade.

After multiplication facts 1 through 9, you can move on to drilling the 10s-11s-12s. Also, Identifying Fractions is something that third-grade students can become fluent in. Factors (finding all the factors of a number) can be drilled at this grade level or any time in the next three years.

4th Grader Math Drills

In fourth-grade, it is essential that multiplication facts 1s through 9s are in place first before drilling on division facts. Students will quickly realize division facts are just the opposite of multiplication facts. Once division facts 1s through 9s are learned, you should go back and make sure that addition and subtraction are mastered. After addition and subtraction facts are automatic, then start students on multiplication 10s-11s-12s and division 10s-11s-12s. Once all of these are mastered, students can work on either identifying fractions or factors. Another skill that can greatly help students in later grades is memorizing equivalent fractions.

5th Grader Math Drills

Students in fifth-grade or higher should be fluent in all these basic math areas: multiplication (1s through 9s), addition (1s through 9s), subtraction (1s through 9s), and division (1s through 9s). These can be strengthened by doing fact families with each of these operations: fact families (+, -) to 10, fact families (+, -) from 11, fact families (x, ÷) to 20, and fact families (x, ÷) from 21. Once these are done, students can start drilling on factors, identifying fractions, equivalent fractions, then learning to add and subtract integers. Then the students can start multiplication 10s-11s-12s and division 10s-11s-12s. The same sequence applies in any grade after fifth. The more facts learned in math to the level of automaticity, the easier the rest of math will be.

 

How Can Rocket Math Online Game Help Your Child Learn?

The Rocket Math Online Game provides the right amount of drill to help your child learn these basic skills. Providing plenty of practice, it is timed and requires students to recall facts (answering within 3 seconds) before moving on to learn more facts. They work their way up through 26 sets, from Set A to Set Z, learning more facts as they go along. The game provides many milestones of progress, lots of little breaks and congratulations as students progress through the twelve Learning Tracks. You can place your child in these tracks in the order you choose. The Rocket Math Online Game includes the following twelve Learning Tracks.

  1. Addition 1s through 9s
  2. Subtraction 1s through 9s
  3. Multiplication 1s through 9s
  4. Division 1s through 9s
  5. Fact Families (+, -) to 10, ex.4+6, 6+4, 10-4, 10-6
  6. Fact Families (+, -) from 11, ex. 5+6, 6+5, 11-6, 11-5.
  7. Add to 20, example 13+4, 4+13,
  8. Subtract from 20, example 15-3, 15-12,
  9. Multiplication 10s-11s-12s,
  10. Division 10s-11s-12s.
  11. Fact Families (x, ÷) to 20, example 4×5, 5×4, 20÷4, 20÷5
  12. Fact Families (x, ÷) from 21, example 3×7, 7×3, 21÷3, 21÷7

See a video of how it teaches here.

The Rocket Math Worksheet Program also provides math drills

Math drills are important for setting your students up for success later in life. Help them build their automaticity and become fluent in the basic math facts through Rocket Math Worksheet Program. The Rocket Math Worksheet Program includes more Learning tracks than the Online Games and you can use this program to help your students with basic math skills.

Here is a list of the worksheets in the Rocket Math Worksheet Program.