Does anyone have a successful way of teaching basic math facts to students?

Question

Does anyone have a successful way of teaching basic math facts to students?

Answer 1

Make it fun.

My kids love to play MATH war. Of course it only works for addition and multiplication. You use a standard deck of cards and divide the cards equally between 2 students. Each student flips a card and whoever (adds or multiplies) them correctly first gets the cards. We specify ahead of time whether we are adding or multiplying. Also we make the jokers worth 0 and I let them choose the values of the face cards- some make them 10s or 11s, others use more of other numbers.



Students just need to MEMORIZE them, and practice them.

I understand where some of you are coming from with the touchmath and other "strategies" I am guessing you teach 2nd and 3rd grade. My 4th and 5th graders use those methods and it takes them 10 minutes to do one story problem. I see where those might be great ways to teach it initially and work good when the whole problem presented is 5 x 4, but at the end of the day - they NEED them memorized. I can't spend half my class period waiting for them to figure out 6 x 7. Also, about understanding the concept of multiplication. I get and understand that. I am not quite positive about this - but I think I would almost rather address that AFTER they know their facts. I can't explain just how important it is in the upper grades (which by our standards start in 4th grade) for them to know their facts instantly because we are doing multi-step problems. I might need them to multiply 125 x 7 then subtract some amount and multiply by something else. It takes them too long counting dots. (I don't speed test these kinds of things - I just think a student should be able to do more than 3 problems in a 30 minute time frame - our achievement tests have time limits.)

Answer 2

Depends on the grade level

but a good technique is to use money....invent your own currency...make students earn classroom "salary"

debits for late homework, lack of supplies, disruptions etc etc



At the middle school level.....

After a minimal introduction into the stock market...

have teams [ 4 max.] buy and sell stocks...which ever team compiles the greatest profit over a quarter gets extra points...

this technique necessitates that the students bring and read the newspaper everyday....use fractions/decimals

determine loan amouts-for margin purchases



It also encourages reading the sections other than comics and sports...for instance..."what is happening locally [or regionally, or globally..] that could influence the stock market...how and where are the most likely places to make a profit???



For elementary and middle...food works.

have the problems stated with jelly beans...and the first one to answer correctly gets to eat the problem



ok maybe the sugar rush from candy is not such a good idea...but the premise works....carrot sticks? fat free nutritional bars???

Answer 3

Touch Math is wonderful, especially with students who have memory issues ... it takes them off fingers while still allowing them to find counting solutions. While the program providing support activities and lesson plans for it is expensive, all you really need is to know the dot patterns and teach them on your own to your kids. It works for all four computation operations.



Otherwise, learning basic math facts is a matter of repetition. In the old days, oral recititation was used, but now is considered "too boring" for our students. So you need to find ways to make that repetition happen while using a variety of activities.



Until the facts are near mastery, you want to be able to respond quickly to student error. Having games where students call out answers for themselves or their teams to advance is good. Self-check centers matching facts to answers work well. Cross curriculum by emphasizing the math in your science activities, or use math fact answers to guide students to select from among activities/prompts/books in Language Arts.

Answer 4

It depends on what grade and ability level. Teaching fact families can be very helpful, in order for them to see the relationship between addition and subtraction, or multiplication and division. For addition facts, they must drill to mastery, regardless of what anyone says. If they have to count 5 plus 6 each time, future math becomes increasingly tedious. Let them explore relationships and patterns. For example, how many different combinations equal 10? This becomes very helpful with future column addition. Guide students to discover patterns: plus one means you just count up one, plus nine means you put a one in front and take one away from the number, etc....this will give them meaning. My students always like the multiplication rock video, with the song. There are jingles to remember all the facts-check with other teachers to see if they have anything. Play games like war or have contests. Have students make their own flash cards (with pictures or raised dots if necessary), paper-punch them and put around a ring. Have a volunteer work with them daily, put a star on card when it is immediate response. After they earn five stars, they get to retire the card. They can watch the cards go as they learn the facts. Touch math can work really well with struggling students - very tangible and visual. Basically, it's a way of marking the numbers to make it easy for students to count up or down, and helps future multiplication. Hope this has helped! If you want to give me more specific info about your kids, just email me and I'll give you additional ideas! :) I've taught grades 1-7 math, focusing on students with disabilities.

Answer 5

As a former engineer, soldier, and artist who survived twelve years as a homeless writer and artist, I have many ways to explain basic math, even algebra.



You don't have to be afraid of math. It is a language, a universal language, that describes us and our world.



I use everything: fingers, toes, objects in the classroom, what's outside as viewed from the window, newspaper stories, cartoons, films, even show and tell objects.



I consult and quote from Isaac Asimov, Ptolemy, Descartes, Pascal, Leibnitz, and others.



Above all, I let them know that even though at one point I was getting a D, I succeeded in becoming the top student in 7th grade algebra, and I tell them how I did it: through study, concentration, asking for help, and doing all my homework plus the extra credit. I show them that people can succeed no matter how bad a situation they're in.

Answer 6

Make it fun - incorporate as many games and stuff as you can.



Also, I'd focus on strategies rather than retention of knowledge. One thing that I've discovered at my school is that all the students know what 2x4 is, but not one student can explain what 2x4 means. Commutative principle (ie 2x6=6x2) and other combination strategies (eg, 4x12=2(2x12)=2(24)=48) are a good idea.

Answer 7

I use a program called TouchMath with my students. Here's the website:

http://www.touchmath.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=about.welcome

Dots are placed on the numbers so that the students have a visual to help them. I use it with my special ed students, it really helps them. It is quite expensive. Ask your special ed team if they have it. I'm sure they'll gladly lend it to you.



Another thing you can do is have your students play math games. They can play games on the computer. There are lots of free online websites like

http://www.funbrain.com/index.html.

You can also make them file folder games.

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=math+file+folder+games&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

That can be time consuming. One simple game you can have them play just requires 2 pair of dice for 2 students. Have them roll them and then ask them to add, subtract, multiply, or make fact families with the numbers.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

Sudoko puzzles will keep your brain stuck on different combinations of numbers(more in tune).

Answer 10

ask a construction worker

Answer 11

mad math minutes

Answer 12

yeah, give them a calculator