Math fact fluency enables students to develop number sense<\/h2>\n
Many teachers learn in their training programs about the importance of “number sense.”\u00a0 Students who have “number sense” can easily and flexibly understand relations between numbers.\u00a0 They can recombine numbers in various ways and see the components of numbers.\u00a0 Students with number sense can intuit the fact that addition and subtraction are different ways of looking at the same relations.<\/p>\n
What is not taught in most schools of education is that developing fluency with the basic math facts ENABLES the development of number sense much better than anything else.\u00a0 Once students memorize facts, they are available for students to call upon to understand alternate configurations of numbers. Students find it much easier to see the various combinations when they when they can easily recall math facts.\u00a0 Once students master the basic facts,\u00a0math games that give flexibility to thinking about numbers become much easier.<\/p>\n
It may be hard for new teachers, straight from indoctrination in the schools of education, to imagine this is true.\u00a0 However, if they land in an elementary school with a strong math fact fluency program they will see the beneficial effect of memorization.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Why is math fact fluency important<\/h2>\nIn the primary grades, students who have not developed fluency in math facts will have a harder time learning basic computation.<\/p>\n
Students who are not fluent with math facts find the worksheets in the primary grades to be laborious work.\u00a0 They finish fewer of them and may begin to dislike math for this reason.<\/p>\n
By the time students reach upper elementary, if they have not memorized the math facts, they find it very difficult to complete math assignments at their grade level.\u00a0 They find themselves unable to estimate or do mental math for problem-solving.\u00a0 The need to figure out math facts will continue to distract non-fluent students while they are learning new math procedures like algorithms.<\/p>\n
In the upper grades, their inability to figure out multiplication facts becomes a huge stumbling block.\u00a0 Manipulations of fractions, decimals,\u00a0and percentages will not make intuitive sense to students because they haven’t memorized those facts.\u00a0 Without math fact fluency, students rarely succeed in pre-algebra and may be prevented from learning algebra and college-level math entirely.<\/p>\n
Math fact fluency must be assured through regular monitoring<\/h2>\n
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<\/a>Some students will need up to ten times more practice to develop math fluency than other students.\u00a0 Therefore, monitoring student success in memorizing the facts is critical. Teachers can assume that what is “enough practice” for some students is NOT going to be enough practice for all students.\u00a0 Effective math fluency programs must have a progress monitoring component built in.\u00a0 Progress monitoring gives comparable timed tests of all the facts at intervals during the year.\u00a0 Teachers look at the results of these timed tests to check on two things:<\/p>\n1.\u00a0Are students gradually improving their fluency with all the facts gradually over the year?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/a>Some students will need up to ten times more practice to develop math fluency than other students.\u00a0 Therefore, monitoring student success in memorizing the facts is critical. Teachers can assume that what is “enough practice” for some students is NOT going to be enough practice for all students.\u00a0 Effective math fluency programs must have a progress monitoring component built in.\u00a0 Progress monitoring gives comparable timed tests of all the facts at intervals during the year.\u00a0 Teachers look at the results of these timed tests to check on two things:<\/p>\n