{"id":39221,"date":"2019-07-09T12:43:36","date_gmt":"2019-07-09T19:43:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rocketmath.com\/?p=39221"},"modified":"2019-08-14T13:11:27","modified_gmt":"2019-08-14T20:11:27","slug":"guide-developing-math-fact-fluency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocketmath.com\/stagingserver\/guide-developing-math-fact-fluency\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate Guide to Math Fact Fluency"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students counting on their fingers is a sure-tell sign that they didn’t acquire math fact fluency. It is sad to see students, ashamed of the only thing they know, counting on their fingers under their desks. Our elementary educational mission is failing students who haven\u2019t developed math fact fluency, which\u00a0 is the foundation to more advanced math skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

Developing math fact fluency takes structure, organization, and work on the part of both teachers and students. In this article, I will share everything you need to know about developing math fact fluency.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What is Math Fact Fluency<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>Math facts are single-digit problems such as 7+9 or 6×8 or 14-5, and so on. A common name for all the multiplication math facts is the “multiplication table.” Math fact fluency is the ability to answer all math fact questions instantly from recall without having to think through the problem.<\/span><\/p>\n

Students should be able to recall math facts instantly without having to count on their fingers or\u00a0 hesitate to think about the answer. This may seem like a high bar, but our brains are great at recalling an unbelievable amount of information daily, and with practice, math facts can be recalled the same way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Three Reasons Why Math Fact Fluency is Important<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"tools<\/a>Math fact fluency is critical because it is a \u201ctool skill.\u201d Meaning, it is a tool that is used in the process of doing other math problems. Developing this tool skill makes learning math easier as concepts get more complicated. This tool skill needs to be automatic in the student\u2019s brain, in order to save precious short-term memory resources.<\/span><\/p>\n

Math fact fluency can be compared to reading. Students must recognize words automatically to comprehend the author’s meaning. Otherwise, they will spend too much time decoding individual words.<\/span><\/p>\n

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When students are fluent in math facts, they are focused on the math process as a whole, rather than stopping to puzzle out the facts. This is important for three reasons:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Students with math fact fluency make fewer errors<\/b><\/h3>\n

Students who lack math fact fluency often make careless errors doing arithmetic computations . If they devote too much energy to deriving math facts, they lose sight of the problem at hand and make mistakes that would otherwise be obvious. Those who can effortlessly recall math facts can concentrate on what they are doing, and ultimately make fewer errors.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Math fact fluency makes learning math easier<\/b><\/h3>\n

When a new math procedure is introduced, students who have math fact fluency can easily follow the thread of instruction. Without this fluency, students fall behind instruction or demonstrations as they try working out math facts. This distraction takes away from a student absorbing all of the details necessary to successfully learn new math processes.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first teacher to use Rocket Math to teach subtraction facts to her second graders realized the benefit first hand. She told me that with Rocket Math, she was able to teach regrouping in subtraction in just three days.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her students mastered the math facts, and the outcome was extraordinary. The teacher shared that since these students had developed fluency in subtraction facts, they were able to learn other procedures easily.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Students who have developed math fact fluency enjoy math and always complete their work<\/b><\/h3>\n

Having to count on your fingers or look up facts on a timetable is slow and onerous. When students can\u2019t work quickly, math problems become a dreaded drudgery. Students are motivated by mastering new skills, which will help them work faster and build confidence . Those who can quickly recall math facts will complete their work with ease , and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment.<\/span><\/p>\n

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How to Build and Improve Math Fact Fluency<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"steep<\/a>Building and improving math fact fluency requires a systematic effort over the elementary years. It is a long climb to achieve mastery and there are no short-cuts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Consistent daily practice throughout elementary school is important for retention. Slow and steady wins the race when building math fact fluency.<\/span><\/p>\n

Math fact practice should be structured in such a way that students are learning a small number of facts at a time. These small groups of facts\u00a0 should be practiced daily until students have reached mastery. As time goes on, more groups of math facts are introduced systematically in small amounts for students to master.<\/span><\/p>\n

Learning 1s to 9s facts in the four basic operations will take elementary students months to master. Worksheets and game applications are two of the best ways to teach math fact fluency over time. Combining structured math fact learning, practice, and evaluation with fun math fact games helps students develop number sense and understand complex numerical relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Teaching Math Fact Fluency with Worksheets<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>Worksheets are popular tools that teachers reach for when teaching math facts, but sadly, they often fall short for the majority of students. A few select students will begin memorizing the facts on their own accord in order to make the worksheets easier, but most students will continue to slowly work out the facts either on their fingers or in their heads.<\/strong> These students may never develop a strong recall of the facts and become flustered when asked to answer problems on the spot.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunately, there are specific worksheets that are effective in building math fact fluency. The key is having worksheets that are structured, systematic, and sequenced. Each worksheet should only have two to four facts to be learned.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By working on only two to four facts, these worksheets help teach memorization for a strong recall, rather than reinforcing working out problems slowly. Students\u00a0 will then be able to remember these small groups of facts easier, and by the end of the worksheet will be writing answers from memory.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Teaching Math Fact Fluency with The Rocket Math Worksheet Program<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"Two<\/a>The<\/span> Rocket Math Worksheet Program<\/span><\/a> improves upon this concept by using paired practice and saying facts aloud. Students partner up and practice quickly recalling facts together. One student asks the questions and watches for when their partner hesitates to answer. He or she then gives his or her partner more opportunities to practice the harder facts.<\/span><\/p>\n

The students switch roles, and after both have answered questions, they then take a one minute test on the facts that they have learned so far. If students are answering as fast as their fingers will carry them, then they pass the level and move on to the next worksheet in the sequence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ten minutes of practice\u00a0 every day gets the job done, especially when paired with using these facts in higher level math problems.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Teaching Math Fact Fluency with Games<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"Students<\/a>In addition to worksheets, schools of education tell teachers to use games to \u201cteach\u201d math facts. Unfortunately, most games and fun activities do not actually help individual students learning math facts to the level of fluency. These games, such as bingo or dice, have several fallouts:<\/span><\/p>\n