Uncategorized extras

CLICK this link to to to SchoolLife.com to GET STARTED with Rocket Math Brag Tags®

CLICK this link to to to SchoolLife.com to GET STARTED with Rocket Math Brag Tags®

With everyone’s initial order of Wall Charts we send 4 sheets of star stickers (over 750) for each Wall Chart ordered. But what if your school has somehow run out of star stickers for the Rocket Math Wall Charts? Order Item #2007 and we will send you 40 additional sheets of star stickers–over 7,500 stickers.

We include 4 removable, and reusable Goal Arrows with each Wall Chart. These stick to the Wall Chart to set motivating goals for your students. If your school needs Goal Arrows or additional Goal Arrows, here’s how to get them. Order Item 2008 and we will send you 48 additional arrows–enough for 16 teachers.

These are the rest of the Addition facts that the Common Core suggests that students be able to compute mentally such as 11 + 7, 4 + 13, and 16 + 3. These obviously build on the basic single digit facts such as 1 + 7, 4 + 3, and 6 + 3. Students should find these fairly easy to master but they still need some practice to commit them to memory. LOOK OUT! Because all the answers are two digits, the number of problems students can be expected to answer will go down!  You must give the special Add to 20 Writing Speed Test to set new lower goals for your students.  To the left you can see the sequence of facts that will be learned in the Add to 20 program.  Otherwise the program is exactly the same as the basic Addition Rocket Math program and uses the same forms–that can be found in the forms and information drawer.

Back to Comparison Continue to Checkout

These are the basic single digit Addition facts 1s through 9s. Each of the 26 levels, A through Z, introduces two facts and their reverses.  You can see in the picture above of Set B, I have outlined the new facts in red.

Students practice orally with a partner, reading and answering the facts going around the outside of the sheet.  The partner has the answer key.  Then the two students switch roles.  After practice everyone takes a one minute test on the facts in the box–which are only the facts learned up to this level.  Each student has individual goals based on writing speed, but no one can pass a level if there are any errors.   You must give the special Writing Speed Test to set individual goals for your students.

Students should be able to pass a level in a week, if they practice the right way.   To the right you can see the sequence of facts that will be learned in the Addition 1s-9s program.  The program uses the four forms–that can be found in the forms and information drawer.

The most succinct way to be introduced to this program is this 8 minute video.

Back to Comparison Continue to Checkout

This is a beginning program for kindergarten students.  You are teaching them to count objects aloud and then match the word with the numeral.

Each worksheet begins with a demonstration of counting objects and circling the numeral that matches.  On Worksheet A there are two and three only to learn.  The teacher demonstrates (best with a document camera so all students can see) how she counts the objects and then points out that the answer is circled.

In the “You do” portion of the worksheet after learning the numerals with the teacher, the students are asked to count the items in each box and circle the correct number.  They are not asked to form the numerals–that’s numeral writing skill.  They just identify the numeral and circle it. Besides cute items there are also dice to count, fingers to count and hash marks to count–so students can learn multiple ways of keeping track of numbers.

Passing a level requires 100% accuracy.  Students who make any errors should be worked with until they can complete the worksheet independently and get all the items correct.

This will build strong beginning math skills for kindergarteners learning the meaning of numerals.  Combined with Rocket Writing for Numerals it will set students up for success in elementary math.

In the “We do” portion of the worksheet the teacher counts the stars first as a demo and then with the students.  Worksheet A you all just count 3 stars.   By Worksheet S the teacher and the students are  counting 12 stars together.

Back to Comparison Continue to Checkout

These are the basic single digit Division facts 1s through 9s. Each of the 26 levels, A through Z, introduces two facts and their reverses.  You can see in the picture above of Set D, I have outlined the new facts in red.

Students practice orally with a partner, reading and answering the facts going around the outside of the sheet.  The partner has the answer key.  Then the two students switch roles.  After practice everyone takes a one minute test on the facts in the box–which are only the facts learned up to this level.  Each student has individual goals based on writing speed, but no one can pass a level if there are any errors.   You must give the special Writing Speed Test to set individual goals for your students.

Students should be able to pass a level in a week, if they practice the right way.   To the right you can see the sequence of facts that will be learned in the Division 1s-9s program.  The program uses the four forms–that can be found in the forms and information drawer.

The most succinct way to be introduced to this program is this 8 minute video.

Back to Comparison Continue to Checkout

These are the basic single digit Multiplication facts 1s through 9s. Each of the 26 levels, A through Z, introduces two facts and their reverses.  You can see in the picture above of Set C, I have outlined the new facts in red.

Students practice orally with a partner, reading and answering the facts going around the outside of the sheet.  The partner has the answer key.  Then the two students switch roles.  After practice everyone takes a one minute test on the facts in the box–which are only the facts learned up to this level.  Each student has individual goals based on writing speed, but no one can pass a level if there are any errors.   You must give the special Writing Speed Test to set individual goals for your students.

Students should be able to pass a level in a week, if they practice the right way.   To the right you can see the sequence of facts that will be learned in the Multiplication 1s-9s program.  The program uses the four forms–that can be found in the forms and information drawer.

The most succinct way to be introduced to this program is this 8 minute video.

Back to Comparison Continue to Checkout

These are the basic single digit Subtraction facts 1s through 9s. Each of the 26 levels, A through Z, introduces two facts and their reverses.  You can see in the picture above of Set C, I have outlined the new facts in red.

Students practice orally with a partner, reading and answering the facts going around the outside of the sheet.  The partner has the answer key.  Then the two students switch roles.  After practice everyone takes a one minute test on the facts in the box–which are only the facts learned up to this level.  Each student has individual goals based on writing speed, but no one can pass a level if there are any errors.   You must give the special Writing Speed Test to set individual goals for your students.

Students should be able to pass a level in a week, if they practice the right way.   To the right you can see the sequence of facts that will be learned in the Subtraction 1s-9s program.  The program uses the four forms–that can be found in the forms and information drawer.

The most succinct way to be introduced to this program is this 8 minute video.

Back to Comparison Continue to Checkout

Addition—Learning Computation

After becoming fluent with addition facts the best way for students to retain the knowledge of those facts is by doing addition computation.  If students have not been taught addition computation, this program breaks it down into small, easy-to-learn steps that are numbered in a teaching sequence that leaves nothing to chance.

Note that the number for each skill gives the grade level as well as indicating the teaching sequence.  Skill 2a is a 2^nd grade skill and after skill 2f is learned the next in the sequence is skill 3a.  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) Adding 1-, or 2-digit numbers; no renaming

(2a) Adding three single-digit numbers

(2b-c) Adding 3-digit numbers; no renaming

(2c) Adding 3-digits to 1 or more digits; no renaming

(2d) Adding three 1- or 2-digit numbers; no renaming

(2e) Adding two 2-digit numbers, renaming 1s to 10s

(2f) Adding 3-digit numbers, renaming 1s to 10s

(3a) Adding a 1-digit number to a teen number, under 20

(3b) Adding two 2- or 3-digit numbers; renaming 10s to 100s

(3c) Adding 3-digit numbers; renaming twice

(3d) Adding three 2-digit numbers; renaming sums under 20

(3e) Adding four multi-digit numbers; renaming, sums under 20

(4a) Adding a 1-digit number to a teen number, over 20

(4b) Adding three 2-digit numbers, sums over 20

(4c) Adding four or five multi-digit numbers, sums over 20

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.
Back to Comparison Continue to Checkout

Students need to know that six-eighths is equivalent to three-fourths and that four-twelfths is equivalent to one-third.  While they can calculate these, it is very helpful to know the most common equivalent fractions by memory.  One of the most common problems students have in fractions is not “reducing their answers to simplest form.”

Here’s a 5 minute Educreations lessons on How the Equivalent Fractions program works.

Part of the Universal subscription package.

Equivalent fractions will help students commit 100 common equivalent fractions to memory.  Each set (A through Z) has four fractions which are displayed on a fraction number line.  Students frequently learn fractions equivalent to one,such as ten-tenths, as well as fractions that can’t be reduced, for example three-fourths is equivalent to three-fourths.  Using the fraction number line will help with student understanding of why those fractions are equivalent.

Click here for the full sequence of 100 Equivalent fractions that students will learn in this program.

Equivalent fractions, Factors, and Integers, are all pre-algebra programs that are appropriate for middle school students who already know the basic facts.

Back to Comparison Continue to Checkout

Dictating Sentences is spelling with a twist.  Instead of spelling one word at a time, in Dictating Sentences (now part of the Universal Level Rocket Math Worksheet Program) students are asked to write an entire sentence from memory.  They work in pairs and their tutor has the student repeat the sentence until it is learned.  Then the student has to write the whole sentence from memory.  It turns out this is considerably harder than writing words on a spelling test, so it is challenging practice, and does a lot to help students develop automaticity with spelling.

If you have to stop and think of the spelling of a word  while you are trying to write, it distracts you from thinking about what you are trying to write.  Students are more successful and better able to show what they know and better able to focus on learning when their tool skills have developed to the level of automaticity.

Daily practice develops automaticity.  Developing automaticity with math facts and with spelling requires a lot of practice.  Daily practice is best and a few minutes a day is optimal.  That is why Rocket Math is designed the way it is–to provide that daily practice.  So Dictating Sentences gives each member of the pair ten minutes a day of practice writing sentences composed of words they know how to spell.

Working in pairs.  As you know from Rocket Math practice, students enjoy working in pairs.  And when one partner has an answer key the practice can be checked and corrected.  Sound research shows that immediate correction and editing of misspelled words is the fastest way to learn the correct spelling, so that’s what we have the student tutor do.  After each sentence is written every word is checked and practiced again until it is correct.

Mastery learning. The program is structure so that all the words are learned to the level of automaticy.  Students keep working on a sentence until it can be written without any errors.  They work on the same lesson for as many days as is needed for them to spelling every word perfectly in all three sentences.  Each sentence persists for two or three lessons, so that the student is required to write it from memory and spell every word perfectly for several days in a row.

500 Most common words.  Dictating sentences systematically practices the 500 most common words that students need in their writing.  It includes all of Rebecca Sitton’s 400 Core Words.  It also includes the 340 words that children most need for writing according to writing researchers Harris and Graham.   When students know these words to the level of automaticity, they will be able to write fluently and easily.

Earning points by being correct and going fast.  Students earn two points for every word that is spelling correctly the first time.  Every word on which there is an error is worked on until it too can be spelled correctly, earning one point.  The faster students go during their ten minutes, the more points they can earn.  Students graph the amount of points earned and try to beat their own score from previous days.  Teams can be set up and competition for the glory of being on the winning team can enhance the motivation.

Individual Placement.  There is a placement test.  Students begin at the level where they first make a mistake.  Student partners do not need to be at the same level, so every student can be individually placed at the level of success.

Back to Comparison Continue to Checkout