Math Fluency

Twice a week students take a 75 second timed math test with 20 questions. The goal of these tests is to have students know addition and subtraction facts quickly without using a number line, counting each answer across his or her fingers, or utilizing other strategies that take quite some time to figure out the basic fact. During general instruction, we introduce strategies that allow for quick answers (such as I know anything +0 is the same as the first number!) to eliminate the need to start and count each answer every time. Much of the mastery comes from practice-practice-practice and student’s ability to memorize many of the facts. The overall goal  is to build a foundation for student success with math facts for the new concepts that are introduced and require this mastery.

The key points for this assessment are:

• It requires 90% or better to pass to the next level.
• Levels are graduated starting with math facts of 0,1 and increasing with passing tests.

• The levels alternate +1 and the next test would be -1 and so on.
• The expectation by the end of the year is math fact fluency of +/- 10.

• Tests are twice weekly. If a student does not pass then a new version of the same math facts are given the next assessment date.



Another way we practice practice practice is is with games. Today we played the Penny Plate game for math facts. Students enjoy playing and do not even realize that it helps build fluency to know facts. Today, we worked numbers equaling 10. (With ten pennies, later we will use 20 pennies). One student puts some pennies under the plate or napkin. The rest of the pennies go on top. The other student then counts the pennies on TOP and tells how many are underneath. Example: If 4 pennies are on top, the student then says, 6 pennies must be underneath because 4+6=10.


Here are a few of our kiddos playing the game! Enjoy the pictures and the video! (They felt like rockstars!)

Video to come...