Improve math fact fluency for addition and subtraction by teaching first and second graders how to choose the best math strategy for a fact.
Matching Strategies to Equations
Problem: I’ve taught my students lots of math fact strategies but how do I get them to put those strategies to use?!?
Solution: Learning HOW to carry out a strategy is one skill but it’s not helpful unless a student knows WHEN to use that strategy. It’s useful to devote some instruction time to teaching your students how to match up a strategy with a problem. Here’s an anchor chart to help you get started:
Sign up HERE for a printable version of this chart.
Sometimes instead of asking, “What’s the answer?” ask, “What strategy would you use for this kind of fact?”
Center Activities
Work strategy identification into a fun center! Here is a math fact “parking lot.” Students park the cars in the correct spaces based on the strategy needed. Paper cars could be used if you don’t have enough toy cars.
Ready to practice this skill with your students? Sign up HERE for a free pig pen cut and glue activity.
Kids cut out the math fact pigs and glue them into the correct strategy pen. A detailed explanation of each strategy is included if you’re unfamiliar with any, as well as an answer key.
Math Fact Running Record
How about assessing the math fact strategies your students are using? We closely monitor reading fluency, sight word recognition, and other literacy skills but how about in math? Having data on the fundamental strategies each student is and is not able to use is highly useful. With this information you can create small groups, you can track growth (possibly useful for RTI), and you can share the information with parents to let them know how they can best help their child.
The only trick is that when a student writes the answer to a math fact (within 20) it’s very difficult to know how they got the answer unless you watch them closely and/or ask them how they did it. An interview-style assessment called a math fact running record can help you get the information you need. Much like a reading running record, you closely watch a student solve math facts and record exactly what they do. When it isn’t obvious how they solved the fact, you ask them.
More information about math running records HERE.
Full assessment materials for math fact running record (4 different tests, student pages, recording sheets, assessment protocol, and class summary sheet) are available HERE.
