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If student progress slows, you need to improve or increase practice.

Students need to practice daily to develop math fact fluency.  When students are seeing regular success in Rocket Math, they are motivated and want to do Rocket Math every day (if not more.)  This is how it should be.  Students love Rocket Math when the implementation is being done well enough so they are passing every few days.  If they start to complain about doing Rocket Math, then something is amiss–because they aren’t making enough progress to be motivated.  You need to correct your implementation BEFORE that happens.

Students should pass a level in no more than 6 days.  That’s the reason there is room for only six “tries” on the Rocket Chart.  If any of your students are going beyond six “tries” without passing, there needs to be an intervention.

When students don’t pass regularly, they get discouraged.  Teachers need to intervene to help students make regular progress. They don’t need to find a different way to practice like flashcards or something else.  They just need more practice or better quality practice.  For any student who is not passing in six days, the teacher or parent needs to either improve the quality of their practice or the amount of their practice–or possibly both.

BETTER: Intervene to improve the QUALITY of practice.

You can check on the quality by observing each student as he or she practices with the partner. Monitoring carefully during practice is the key! 

MORE: Intervene to increase the QUANTITY of practice.

Some students need two practice sessions each day, what football teams call “2-a-days!”

If you are still using Rocket Math, please consider renewing your subscription now.  

If you can’t log-in to the page shown below, here is how to reset your password. 

How to Renew your subscription–in 2 steps.

1.  Click into the Subscription Manager page.

Once you are logged into your account you’ll see the blue header and in the center (outlined in yellow in the picture) you’ll see “Subscription Manager.”  Clicking on that will take you to your account page.

2.  Click on the Renew Subscription button. 

Your account page will look like this. The top bar has tabs including one to Renew Subscription.  Click on that and you can choose which type of  subscription you would like (Basic or Universal) and what size (individual, 3 teachers, 6 teachers or Whole School) and then choose your method of payment (credit card, PayPal, or Purchase Order).

 Thank you for your support.

Dr. Don

Rocket Math: Because going fast is more fun.

In 18 easy-to-manage steps!

Rocket Math Universal Subscription now includes Subtraction–Learning Computation.

After becoming fluent with subtraction facts the best way for students to retain the knowledge of those facts is by doing subtraction computation.  If students have not been taught subtraction computation, Subtraction–Learning Computation breaks it down into 18 small, easy-to-learn steps that are numbered in a teaching sequence that leaves nothing to chance.  Even better the instructional materials include an assessment of all the skills in subtraction computation in order, so you can test the knowledge of the student(s) before beginning instruction to see where to start. You can use this assessment to find very specific “holes” in student skills and then have the exact problems and explanation to fill that hole.

Note that the number for each skill gives the grade level as well as indicating the teaching sequence.  Skill 3b is a 3^rd grade skill and after skill 3g is learned the next in the sequence, skill 4a is best taught in fourth grade.  Minor changes have been made, but for the most part, the sequence of skills is drawn from M. Stein, D. Kinder, J. Silbert, and D. W. Carnine, (2006) Designing Effective Mathematics Instruction: A Direct Instruction Approach (4^th Edition) Pearson Education: Columbus, OH.

(1b) Subtract from 2 digits; no renaming.

(2a) Subtract from 2digits; renaming required.

(2b) Subtract from 3 digits; borrow from 10s.

(3a) Subtract from 3 digits; borrow from 100s.

(3b) Subtract from 3 digits; borrow either place.

(3c) Subtract tens minus one facts.

(3d) Subtract from 3 digits; zero in 10s; borrow 10s or 100s.

(3e) Read and write thousands numbers, use commas.

(3f) Subtract from 4 digits; borrow from 1000s.

(3g) Subtract from 4 digits; borrow once or more.

(4a) Subtract from 4 digits; zero in 10s or 100s column

(4b) Subtract from 4 digits; zero in 10s column, 1 in 100s.

(4c) Subtract hundreds minus one facts.

(4d) Subtract from 4 digits; zero in 10s and 100s column.

(4e) Subtract 1, 2, or 3 digits from 1,000.

(4f) Subtract 5 and 6 digits with borrowing.

(5a) Subtract thousands minus one facts.

(5b) Subtract from a number with four zeroes.

For each skill there is a suggested Teaching Script giving the teacher/tutor/parent consistent (across all the skills we use the same explanation) language of instruction on how to do the skill.  My favorite part is the rule students are taught for when to borrow (often confusing for students): Bigger bottom borrows.  Simple, easy-to-remember and consistently correct.  The script helps walk the student through the computation process.  For the teacher, in addition to the script, there are answer keys for the five worksheets provided for each skill.

Each worksheet is composed of two parts.  The top has examples of the skill being learned that can be worked by following the script.  After working through those examples with the teacher the student is then asked to work some review problems of addition problems that are already known.  The student is asked to do as many as possible in 3 minutes—a kind of sprint.  If all is well the student should be able to do all the problems or nearly all of them, but finishing is not required.  Three minutes of review is sufficient for one day.

There are five worksheets for each skill.  Gradually as the student learns the skill the teacher/tutor/parent can provide progressively less help and the student should be able to do the problems without any guidance by the end of the five worksheets.  There are suggestions for how to give less help in the teaching scripts.

After becoming fluent with multiplication facts the best way for students to retain the knowledge of those facts is by doing multiplication computation.  If students have not been taught multiplication computation, this program breaks it down into small, easy-to-learn steps that are numbered in a teaching sequence that leaves nothing to chance.  Even better the instructional materials include an assessment of all the skills in multiplication computation in order, so you can test the knowledge of the student(s) before beginning instruction to see where to start.

Note that the number for each skill gives the grade level as well as indicating the teaching sequence.  Skill 3b is a 3^rd grade skill and after skill 3e is learned the next in the sequence is skill 4a.  The sequence of skills is drawn from M. Stein, D. Kinder, J. Silbert, and D. W. Carnine, (2006) Designing Effective Mathematics Instruction: A Direct Instruction Approach (4^th Edition) Pearson Education: Columbus, OH.

(3b) Multiplying 1-digit times 2-digit; no renaming

(3c) Multiplying 1-digit times 2-digit; carrying

(3d) Multiplying 1-digit times 2-digit, written horizontally.

(3e) Reading and writing thousands numbers, using commas.

(4a) Multiplying 1-digit times 3-digit

(4b) Multiplying 1-digit times 3-digit; zero in tens column

(4c) Multiplying 1 digit times 3 digit, written horizontally

(4d) Multiplying 2-digits times 2-digits.

(4e) Multiplying 2-digits times 3-digits.

(5a) Multiplying 3-digits times 3-digits.

(5b) Multiplying 3-digits times 3-digits; zero in tens column of multiplier.

For each skill there is a suggested Teaching Script giving the teacher/tutor/parent consistent (across all the skills we use the same explanation) language of instruction on how to do the skill.  The script helps walk the student through the computation process.  For the teacher, in addition to the script, there are answer keys for the five worksheets provided for each skill.

Each worksheet is composed of two parts.  The top has examples of the skill being learned that can be worked by following the script.  After working through those examples with the teacher the student is then asked to work some review problems of addition problems that are already known.  The student is asked to do as many as possible in 3 minutes—a kind of sprint.  If all is well the student should be able to do all the problems or nearly all of them, but finishing is not required.  Three minutes of review is sufficient for one day.

There are five worksheets for each skill.  Gradually as the student learns the skill the teacher/tutor/parent can provide progressively less help and the student should be able to do the problems without any guidance by the end of the five worksheets.  There are suggestions for how to give less help in the teaching scripts.

Have them model the correction procedure rather than the latest fashions.

You can’t just tell your students the three steps of the Rocket Math correction procedure.  That’s not enough to be sure they know it.  The best way to determine if the students know the procedure is to require them to model it.

Do this, not just when you start Rocket Math, but any time you see that students are NOT doing the correction procedure the right way.  If they start to slip or zone out, the best thing to do is stop them from doing Rocket Math and spend a few days requiring them to model how to correct your errors, one at a time, while everyone listens.   Do it for ten minutes each day (during Rocket Math time) for several days–at least until you have had every student get a chance to “be your checker.”

Require them to model the correction procedures while you role play being a student making errors.

You have to role play being a student and you have to make the ALL the errors which they have to learn how to correct.  You have the worksheet and your students have the answer key in front of them.  Choose one at a time to be your “checker.”

First, ask that student WHEN should they should correct you.  They should say (in any order),

When you make an error. 

When you hesitate. 

When you say the problem wrong. 

When you don’t say the whole problem and the answer. 

Second, ask that student HOW they should correct you.  They should say (in order)

1.  Stop. Interrupt the student and say the correct problem and the answer.

2. Repeat.  Have the student repeat the correct problem and answer three times. 

3. Back up.  Have the student back up three problems and begin again.  

Third, begin practicing as if you were a student and then make errors.  Then require the student you’ve selected to be your checker to model the three-step correction procedure.   They should interrupt you and say the whole problem and the answer, ask you to say it three times, and then after you’ve repeated it three times, they should tell you to back up three problems and begin again.  You’ll end up counting together and coming to agreement about where to start and then beginning again.  But remember, they have to know not just HOW to correct, but also WHEN to correct.

Fourth, be sure to make all four kinds of errors to see if your “checker” recognizes all of them.  Try reading just the answers and see if your checker follows the correction procedure.  Definitely do a two second hesitation and if they don’t jump in to correct you, prompt them to do so.  Read the problem wrong as well as say the wrong answer.  Prompt the correction procedure if the student doesn’t do it the right way or at the right time.  If you have to prompt a student then they aren’t ready yet.  Keep going around the class, calling on each of your students to be your checker, and make sure they do it correctly and prompt them if they don’t.  Go back and call on any students who needed prompting and see if they can do it without prompting now. Keep making them model the correction procedure until everyone can do it the right way WITHOUT PROMPTING.

**The correction poster (pictured above) is available in the Rocket Math store under Organization and Training materials.  Item #2014 Corrections poster $18 

By now you’ve got Rocket Math up and running in your class.  If you’re hard-working, dedicated and smart you have read the instructions thoroughly.  If you need motivation to do so (I know it’s a lot to read through), check out this blog: Without the directions you may get lost!   So that’s the first thing to know.

If you want to quiz yourself (or your staff) Dr. Don has created a 20 question quiz you can take.  Where, how, and why you might want to do so, is explained in this blog that asks, “Do you know how to make Rocket Math enjoyable?”

Most importantly, you should be walking around during Rocket Math practice listening to your students to be sure they are correcting errors and hesitations the way they should–like every single time!  How important it is for you to be carefully monitoring practice cannot be stressed enough.   It’s not life or death, but it is learning or pretending, so you have to be certain that practice is going as it should.    If you need convincing please read this blog:  Monitor, monitor, monitor!

You can structure your self-evaluation, or get someone else to observe and help you evaluate yourself with the 100 point Observation form.  If you want to know, “How well do I implement Rocket Math?” this is the tool for you.  Click on the link here to get to the blog that will explain it as well as links to the form itself.

Finally, if monitoring or observations reveal that your students are NOT practicing as they should, what should you do about it.  Here is an FAQ on the topic, “How do I get my students to practice math facts the right way?”   And below is a video where Dr. Don shows what you must do to each students how to practice the right way.  Sorry, there’s no exciting gun play or car chases, but this is important to see.  If your students are not correcting the right way, this is what you have to do, so it’s valuable.