Those Pesky and Important Math Facts

Addition Facts Mastery

Is there a third grade, or even second grade, teacher out there who hasn't wished that every one of your students came to you already having memorized basic addition and subtraction facts?  Having these facts mastered is vital to success in elementary math, but also for success in algebra and advanced math courses throughout the school career.  Teachers of beginning algebra classes often report that the largest barrier their students face, is their lack of fluency with basic math facts. Fluency with facts requires practice. Lots of practice, for most kids.

One of the most effective and efficient ways of assuring basic facts mastery is to have a system of daily timed

assessments that students progress through. Upon mastering one family of facts, they move on to the next.

Teaching students to use strategies, rather than just rote memorization, makes mastering the basic facts much easier and faster. I developed my system of daily timings around a set of addition strategies: zero property, add 1, add 2, addition doubles, doubles plus one, doubles plus two, add ten, and add ten subtract one.  Several of the facts can actually be solved using more than one strategy. But probably the most important strategy that students need to learn is the commutative property of addition.

My addition fact mastery system is available for free download at Teachers Pay Teachers.  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Addition-Fact-Mastery-Worksheets

There are 10 addition assessments in this packet, grouped by strategy. The first 9 assessments are 24 problems, intended to be completed in one minute. 100% accuracy must be achieved in one minute in order to move on to the next assessment. Each assessment is a half-page. I have found it easy to save paper by re-using copy paper that has had one side used. Rather than discard extra copies of assignments, etc., I save these and run my math timings on the backs of them. The final assessment, Addition Review, has 100 problems.  Students are allowed five minutes to complete it, and can pass it off with 95% accuracy.

Along with the timed assessments, I have included a record-keeping chart so you can easily track student progress, and practice pages of 100 problems each that focus on each strategy.  These are great for homework.  Enjoy these timings and practice pages.  Here's to making our math life  a bit easier!

Summer....

Summer is finally here in northern Utah.  It has been very slow in coming this year.  We had record amounts of snowfall in the mountains throughout the winter and into the spring.  We had the wettest spring on record with lots of rain and lots of snow.  When the snowpack should have been melting, it continued to build.  When we finally did start to see some warm temperatures, there was flooding in many areas.  However, we were really blessed because the spring was so cool and long-lasting that the snow melted much slower than was expected.  The flooding came, the rivers were high and fast, but it was not nearly as bad as it could have been.

I always feel like as long as it is June, I have forever.  June is wonderful with warm days, cool nights, and time to recover, renew, and rejuvenate.  But, June seems to end quickly, and once we get into July, it's time to start thinking about school again.  ( Really, I never stop thinking and planning, but July means GET SERIOUS!)  So, I've been working on curriculum materials.  I started, years ago, creating most of my own materials.  I've always been rather dissatisfied with textbook programs.  Whenever I look at a textbook lesson, my first thought is, "Where's the practice?"  It's hard to believe that experts who write these books don't understand how much practice and repetition third graders need to become proficient.  So, I typically re-write or at least supplement every new program my district buys.

Last year, we were given Reading Street 2011.  There are many things I like about the program, and some that I dislike.  I've been busy for the last year writing activities to fill in the gaps in the program and provide extra time-on-task.  I love the way every week's lesson focuses on either a science or social studies concept.  I like having a specifice skill to focus on for spelling, comprehension, and study skills.  However, with my colleagues, we have made some changes to the yearly schedule.  We chose to focus on one study skill per unit, rather than one per week.  We chose the skills that align with our current core curriculum, and focus on them, one at a time.  We then test that skill at the end of the unit.  We also rearranged the schedule for teaching comprehension skills.  Rather than one per week, we teach two per unit, and again, we test comprehension at the end of the unit, not the end of the week.  We found that the weekly tests for Reading Street are way too hard for our kids.  We give a spelling test and a vocabulary test every week, but test compehension, study skills, and grammar skills only at the end of the unit.

The practice materials that accompany the textbooks are okay, but not great.  I personally like practice activites that pack a lot more punch!  I want lots more practice than what is provided on a page in the program.  I have written additional spelling and vocabulary units for every selection in the textbook.  I have also made a curriculum map for the year that provides for the changes I've discussed.  I've been working on activities for the study skills and the comprehension skills.  Watch for these things to be posted on Teachers Pay Teachers.  I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts and experiences with using Reading Street.