February 18, 2014

Math Facts Fluency

Every year we work on getting our 2nd graders to fluently add and subtract math facts from 1-10. Well, this year I decided that since it was such an important standard for 2nd graders, that it would be incorporated in their homework.

I know that in the past I have sent home flashcards and told my students to study throughout the week and then we would test over their facts on Fridays. But I felt that they just weren't mastering their facts fast enough. I assume that they weren't really practicing their facts. Or maybe they were, but they might've been doing them alone.

So I REVAMPED how I do fluency homework. I decided that I would create a homework sheet for addition facts first and start sending it home for my students to practice being timed NIGHTLY. The parents were to time their child for 1 minute each night (can't argue with 1 minute right!?!?) and write down the number of problems that their child got RIGHT and then initial saying that they attest that THEY timed their child. I thought that if parents were able to actually watch what their child would be doing in my classroom each Friday, they would understand a little more and be able to help their child study if they needed it.

My results from using the timed math facts each night:
My students QUICKLY mastered their addition facts (most of them were getting 18/20 problems in a minute correct by the end of the 1st 9 weeks). It's the middle of our 3rd marking period and most of my students are getting at least 16/20 math facts in a minute ever single week. I also have 5 students who moved on to multiplication (3rd grade standard) after the 2nd 9 weeks. I have never had more than 2 or 3 students working on multiplication even at the END of the school year. I really think that the nightly homework has helped my students TREMENDOUSLY!!!

If you would like to use a copy of my nightly homework, I have created homework sheets for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. You can find them at my Tpt store by clicking the image below. I hope you find success with using the homework like I have!

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