How do you teach math facts?

[Lolobride]

Hi,

I wonder, how do you teach your children math facts? Like addition and substraction up to 10 by heart?

My older DD can count to 100, skip count 2s, 5s, 10s, do simple additions and substractions up to 10 with her fingers or with other things. But she doesn't remember the facts, unfortunately, even though, we do it often.

I have Flash Cards for teaching these facts, but she just doesn't like them.

How did you do it?

Thank you for your answer :-)

Best regards,
Lolobride

[Lolobride]

Forgot to mention: she is 4.5 years old.

[mom2bee]

Seems like you need to check out Giggle Math, a review was recently published in the forums by Kerilanne99 and the website is here.

There is also a book called 2 + 2 is not 5 that covers addition facts.

I don't have hands on experience with either product, but I learned about Giggle Math from the review and I have heard a lot of good things about the book 2 + 2 is not 5.

[Korrale4kq]

Giggle math looks fantastic. And I think it would work with my son because he loves games. Definitely google it and watch little Alex (3.5) play. But I am not sure it is the fastest way. It would certainly be the most fun! The program is meant to take a year with a 4-8 year old. If you are adjusting for EL it could be longer.


As far as the fastest way to teach facts I would use a system like Jones Genius Dot Matrix or Touch Math.

[cokers4life]

Giggle Math does look awesome.  It's going on the list of must buy for my youngest.    But I did finish the entire Mammoth Math grade 1 with my recently turned 5 year old.   It took us around 9 months to finish because we took a couple of breaks from it, but we did every single page and every single problem (Warning...its a lot).   I did not flash one math fact card, and he knows all his subtraction and addition math facts fluently.   He also played a game on his LeapPad that reinforced his learning as well.  He is now learning multiplication. 

What I learned with Mammoth Math is to go through every problem in order and if you need to be manipulative dependent with an abacus or feeding cheerios to dolls, that is okay.  I found the results to be the same.   We used manipulatives for the first book and by the second book, he was doing them in his head or with his fingers.  Then at the end of the second book, he was doing two step word problems in his head.  I found Mammoth math's systematic approach through the math facts to be incredibly thorough.   Its an open and go book, so it is so easy to use.    There are lots of samples, so print them out and give them a try.   I use the Light Blue series.  http://www.mathmammoth.com/complete/grade_1.php

Hope that helps.

[Kerileanne99]

There are definitely lots of fun ways to teach math facts, and games are definitely some of my favorites. As others have mentioned, the GiggleFacts are a lot of fun, and we used programs, RightStart games, apps, and board games, among other things.

I think it depends on where you are in your math program. It sounds as though you already have a math program but just need to solidify those facts for fast recall.
I actually don't think that flashcards are the way to go for young kids memorizing facts. Don't get me wrong, it does work, but I think that the amount of time it takes (especially as they will get bored FAST!) isn't worth it. It is an opportunity cost for me, primarily because I think that it takes longer for them to get to the point where they can translate that to paper with understanding and the fact that I want them to enjoy what they are doing!

We did Jones Geniuses math in the beginning to familiarize her, and eventually did RS A and B, working on facts with the RS games. Most of the games you will need to work on addition/subtraction facts can be done with a deck of cards! One of Alexs favorites was a card game called 'Go to the Dump', a RS variation of Go Fish. Instead of making pairs of identical cards, the idea is to pair up card combinations where the sum is 10. I find this works really well with the idea of Singapore number bonds, and it really helped Alex now that we are using Singapore math. RightStart has a demonstration video of Go to the dump on their YouTube Channel. They also have card games like addition memory, and another favorite of ours, addition and subtraction war. Addition war is simply dividing a stack of playing cards into two piles, one for each player. Then each player further divides their stack into two piles. Then both players flip over two cards and find the sum/difference. Whichever player has the greater sum/difference takes all the cards in the hand. The game is over when one player has all the cards...or when mom says that's enough, in which case the winner is determined by the tallest stack:)

http://youtu.be/7d8ZvoES5U8

Here is another thread where I (and others) listed some more of our math fact games:

http://forum.brillkids.com/teaching-your-older-child/basic-math-facts-saxon-afterschooling-a-second-grader/

And one thing, if you like the GiggleFacts math, it is very inclusive.and while I know that it says a year for the program? Not for an EL Kid! I would be it could be mastered in A couple of months with daily play.

If you want to purchase a math games set for ALL operations and had to choose one set, I would choose the RS set. It is designed to cover a lot more and will grow with your child. The games aren't as cute and flashy, but are mostly fun and do work.

[Lolobride]

Wow, thank you so much for the good ideas and links. I will check them out!

Yes, I also thought, flashcards are not the best way. She doesn't like them at all!

[lzp11]

There are some great ideas here - we are at a similar stage.

But.... any advice for a child who doesn't really like to play games and is not particularly fond of worksheets either??!!! 

We are currently doing "app-maths" because it's the least stressful (and most enjoyable) way for us to approach maths.  We are having a rest from rightstart at the moment.  but might try to restart it soon.  In the meantime, we do 10 problems from each of two different maths apps (maths skill builders https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/maths-skill-builders-primary/id541619420?mt=8, splash math kindergarten (nearly finished) https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/splash-math-kindergarten-fun/id600426787?mt=8 and then 10 problems using the ipad soroban app Know Abacus)

It's not much but we do it daily and are making steady progress.  But in terms of really learning maths facts, I'm not sure if it's enough.  Any other ideas or inspiration would be most welcome!!

[Korrale4kq]

Check out the jones genius dot matrix.
Or YouTube Touch Math. Similar concept. I prefer JG because there are no double dots.

[Kerileanne99]

Izp11-
Let's see if I can help with some of the more unusual, non- 'game', non-worksheet things we did to memorize addition/subtractions facts. I think your oldest is more active like mine, so maybe some of the physical methods will work better:)

1) mandabplus3 shared a truly great album of math facts songs that Alex enjoyed, especially whilst jumping on the trampoline. https://itunes.apple.com/au/album/addition-songs/id316086214

2) if she is up for a bit of artistic work, one of our favorite ways to do math is in the windows! Crayola makes some amazing window markers that have some amazing effects. Our favorite are called Crystal Effects, and are great for combining vertical writing work, math, and art:)
http://www.amazon.com/Crayola-Window-Markers-Crystal-Effects/dp/B006E5TAFQ/ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

3) if she likes the idea of community service/feeding the poor, there is an amazing website called Freerice.com. They donate food to the hungry fro each correct answer, and the kids can keep track of how many grains of rice they have donated. This has made a big impression on Alex.

4) reading living math books! We make sure to include AT LEAST one living math book into our bedtime reading, as well as non-fiction, fiction, and primary science. I really believe this makes a huge difference and helps introduce topics and extra practice that simply would not fit into our schedule anywhere else.
You can find living math books by topic. Here are a couple of our favorite lists.
www.livingmath.net
www.the-best-children's-books.org/math

5) Ellen McHenry's Basement Workshop has a free download called 'Mr. Pig's Magic Math' and 'Storm the Castle' that she might like.

6) try allowing her to design art of her own with neat math facts ( I had to put those in nearly for Alex) and hanging them on the ceiling above Alex's bed. She would stare at them as she was going to sleep, saying some to herself. There is something amazing about putting them into your brain just prior to falling asleep, then allowing them to process whilst she is sleeping.

7) car-schooling...all I can say here is that a captive audience is great! Math facts music, mom reciting, whatever!

math facts hopscotch- give a problem and let her hop to the answer. We worked on listening skills at the same time, as in asking her to hop or proceed in a specific way. A funny story: Alex decided that hopping backwards was negative numbers, and thus learned to add and subtract combinations of positive and negative numbers in this manner with no fuss and lots of giggles.

9) Kakuru puzzles- these I had never heard of but found online. You can print them for free. They are similar to crossword puzzles but use numbers instead of letters. Some double as logic puzzles!

10) ball toss- get a light ball or balloon, and toss from one person to the next. Say a math fact, toss the ball, and the person catching it has to say the answer before tossing it to the next person. We actually started this game with Alex as a tiny tot with counting and geography (we used a blow-up earth ball and did continents, oceans, capitals, etc.) now I know that you can purchase inflatable balls with math facts printed on them, such as these:
http://www.amazon.com/American-Educational-Products-HUB1410-Addition/dp/B000CBWVQS/ref=sr_1_7?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1373950835&sr=1-7&keywords=inflatable+math+ball

I actually think it simpler and more fun to inflate a balloon and tey to keep it off the ground. You can use a marker to write whatever facts you are working on directly onto the balloon.

And of course, all apps and computer programs are not created equal! There are SO many free math fact sites that might catch her interest whilst gaining some simple computer skills. If Alex gets to use a mouse, she suddenly becomes willing to try all sorts of new things:)

Ah! And I have a ton of ideas and things we accumulated to practice her multiplication tables, but I guessthat should be another post altogether

[Korrale4kq]

James loves to build things with dominos. We use those for math fact play. We have the dominos upside downa and we pick one up and see who can add or subtract the 2 sides first. Whoever gets it firt (i give him a little bit of time of course) gets the domino. They make dominos up to 15 dots each side.
We also lay it flash cards and match dominos to the cards. Dominoes are great for learning doubles.

I think James' favorite math game involves doing math with playing cards. I give him a plus or minus symbol and lay down 2 cards to make an equation, James flips the cards and figures out the answers. We have used several strategies. He used to use Cheerios. This was very rewarding and motivating at snack time. He then started counting the spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds on both cards. Now he just counts up or down with one card.

[Korrale4kq]

I did find this video today.

http://youtu.be/825G-Ntbsdk

[Tamsyn]

Starfall.com's math content is great.

Playing with cuisenaire rods and math-u-see blocks have helped.

Abacus training has helped my older two to visualize their math facts and being able to think of numbers in terms of 8 being the same as 5+3.  They also memorized number "friends", like in relation to 5, the numbers 4 and 1, and 3 and 2 are friends.  In regards to 10, the number friends are 9+1, 8+2, 7+3, 6+4, and 5+5.  They aren't quite visualizing the math yet, but abacus training has really helped them.

We also have math games we play from the book "Math Games and Activities".  That was such a golden thrift store find!

We like mathtacular and my kids are very drawn to the manipulatives.  Free play with math manipulatives has probably been the most helpful thing for my kids.

This post may be helpful:  http://www.professional-mothering.com/2013/05/math-resources.html

[lzp11]

Wow some great ideas! Thank you everyone 

Keri - thanks so much for such detailed suggestions. I know that E will love the window art idea. She absolutely loves any kind of art project. The only question is whether she will be willing to tear herself away from creating window art masterpieces to do any maths at all 

Tamsyn - great suggestions. And we have more Starfall already. I forgot about the maths part!

Using a soroban and RS has definitely solidified the 5+1,2,3,4,5 combinations.

We have also covered number bonds to 10 in a couple of ways: the Thinkout app http://thinkout.se/
And the song (sung to row row row your boat)
9 and 1 are number bonds
8 and 2 are friends
7 and 3, 6 and 4
5 and 5 are twins

I have lots of new ideas now. I also like the unifix bonds which can be used like cuisinnaire rods crossed with a rightstart abacus. I think our next step will be to re-cover Little Friends of 5 (number bonds to five) in preparation for soroban regrouping.

There are so many different methods for learning math facts!  It can get overwhelming.  I'm guessing that all methods used consistently will get there. I'm not in a big rush - I want to make sure they make sense to her at the same time.  This has been a good reminder to me to be creative and keep re visiting different goals. I may make it a summer project to look at (but not necessarily feel pressured to master) math facts to 10 in different ways.

[crunchynerd]

We use a soroban abacus, but keep a straight-10 (10 rods with 10 beads each, that move across instead of vertically) big primary-years abacus for my toddler to play with, and sliding the beads across, one additional bead per rod, shows the relationships very nicely, in a way that can be internalized. Internalizing is very different from mere memorizing, and I agree that memorizing, though it gets results (if the result you want is a right answer without thinking), but is less robust a way to learn. Instant recall can happen as a result of repeated manipulation and internalization, and that way, it stays. That which is merely memorized can be forgotten.

Learning the inverse relationships within 10 is very important to ease of mental math, and ease of abacus use. (Inverse numbers meaning, 7 and 3 are the flip sides of each other with relation to 10, and so are 6 and 4, 5 and 5, and 2 an 8, 1 and 9)

That makes knowing that adding 6 can mean adding 10 and subtracting 4, or that subtracting 7 can mean subtracting 10 and adding 3 back, easy.
Best wishes!

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