math facts

[Mama Rana]

I need some tips for helping my 6yo memorize his math facts. He has low motivation to do so, and he knows how to figure out the answers by counting on or counting his fingers or whatever, so that compounds the issue. We've worked with Cuisenaire rods, figured out the numbers bonds [we're using Singapore Math], drilled with flashcards, played games both of his creation and of mine, and done computer based games & iPhone apps. But I don't feel like he's internalizing them. He's still counting on to figure out 3+2!

He knows the +1's and +0's, and he knows the doubles up to 5+5, and he knows 10+10 [though right now I'm still focusing on the facts with sums up to 10].

I just don't know what else to try. I'm planning on moving forward with the SM next week because we've been working on this for several weeks, but I feel like I still need to try to sneak in some math fact practice.

[425lisamarie]

So long as he knows HOW to add, a lot of addition is memorizing. I have a big poster with simple adding facts. To this day I can still do multiplication and other things in my head better than simple addition lol.

Have you checked out math mammoth? Her worksheets are FABULOUS. not only do they read 1 + 3 = 4, but gets them thinking backwards and forwards by one missing number, writting a sentence that equals 4, etc. I highly recommend it. She has tons of sample pages, and it's CHEAP. I was kind of shocked how good it is, cheap,and how much DS loves math

[Mama Rana]

Originally Posted by 425lisamarie

So long as he knows HOW to add, a lot of addition is memorizing. I have a big poster with simple adding facts. To this day I can still do multiplication and other things in my head better than simple addition lol.

Have you checked out math mammoth? Her worksheets are FABULOUS. not only do they read 1 + 3 = 4, but gets them thinking backwards and forwards by one missing number, writting a sentence that equals 4, etc. I highly recommend it. She has tons of sample pages, and it's CHEAP. I was kind of shocked how good it is, cheap,and how much DS loves math

Oh, I actually have Math Mammoth, and I sorta keep forgetting! I have the PDF version that I got CHEAP through the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op a couple weeks ago. I should look through there and see. I peeked at it when I first down-loaded it, but it was a BIT overwhelming [I actually hate browsing PDF docs, I would much rather have a book in my hand], but that's a great idea.

[425lisamarie]

Me too LOL! I actually printed the whole thing and put it together like a book. If he knows simple addition, he should be able to start with it a little at a time. DD is almost 4.5 and learning to read, and add with pictures/dots, like 2 drawn out dots plus 3 drawn out dots equals so I'm looking forward to being able to use it for her too!

[tankgirl73]

He's 6.

Comprehension > memorization.

If he's working with numbers to figure out an answer, he's more likely to observe patterns and make connections and see relationships. If he simply memorizes rote facts, he could miss all the actual relationships behind the answers. Playing with real numbers is more important and more useful than being able to solve a worksheet equation quickly.

[babycarrier]

Dice games! Yahtzee and Monopoly were a big part of my kids addition internalization.

[425lisamarie]

Oh games! I forgot to mention....my DD right at 4 learned to play UNO. She can kick anyone's booty in a minute. I think she actually knows her simple addition quicker than her brother!

[Lillian J]

I think you'd be ahead to let go of getting math facts into him right now, and instead just play fun games along the way that will expose him to them and let him pick them up. He's awfully young for knowing much in the way of math facts.

I'm going to paste here a story I've told many times:

We didn't do much of anything that could be considered formal math or practice - we just purposely played around with math on an inconsistent basis - and my husband insisted, when our son was around 9 or 10, that I take him to be tested in math. I left him with the owner of a math tutoring center for an hour long evaluation, worrying the whole time that she would jump all over me when I returned about how "behind" he was. When I returned, I found her absolutely thrilled with his understanding and appreciation of "real math," as compared to the notion most of her students had that math was boring or "hard" mastery of algorithms rather than more creative and imaginative thinking. She said she spends most of her time trying to undo the damage done in schools by all the useless and numbing workpages and drills. She could have told me we needed to come back for tutoring, but she told me to just keep doing whatever I was doing, and to start introducing memorizing of multiplication facts by the time he was ready for algebra (to make it go smoother). He was never intimidated by math, and he just went about learning what he needed to know as he needed it. Lillian

[AAK]

I am a big fan on having math fact memorized. But not at 6. Give yourself permission to move on--he will be exposed to addition over and over again and many of the 'facts' will eventually be memorized simply from doing it so much. Games are fun ways to continually reinforce the concept too. For me, I want them to have addition and subtration fact down by third grade. That way they have a few years to get the mult & division down pat before algebra. I hated flash cards and won't use them with my kids. I don't allow calculators for math time--we use them at other times to explore bigger ideas and just to see how they work.

Don't stress about this. Move on before he hates the subject

Amy

[Mama Rana]

Tankgirl, I agree that comprehension is more important, and he's GOT THAT, which is why I'd like him now to internalize the facts. One of the reasons I pulled him from PS was because I didn't think they spent enough time on the WHY of math. I'm actually really amazed sometimes at his understanding of the underlying concepts, even when he "swears" he can't do it. silly kid

Singapore really recs that they have the facts memorized before moving on. I do not want to inundate him with worksheets and meaningless drills, but I DO think it's important for him to memorize them. That's why I wanted to know some other ways I can expose him along the way so that the memorization will come with time.

Like I said, I do plan to move on, and hope that this doesn't hold him back from being able to do the Singapore stuff since they want him to know that before going on.

I do have to disagree that he's too young to memorize facts. He knows the doubles to 10 down cold. He can ID at least 10 different dinosaurs by sight. He has entire books memorized. He's not too young to memorize math facts that he understands. But I DO agree that I don't want him to memorize them at the cost of his enjoying math.

I'll have to look at Yahtzee [I can't stand Monopoly!]. We don't own it, but I think my mom does..... Any other games?

Thanks everyone!

[sleet76]

Right Start Math has a great group of math card games that work really well to have fun AND work on math facts. My two older kids LOVE to play the games. I think they sell a little booklet and cards on their website separately from the full curriculum. We love them!

[annettemarie]

Dice games are great. Sometimes I'll just give my kids two dice and have them roll them and add them. Dominoes can work for this too-- pull one out, add the sides together.

We also tell a lot of stories and act hem out with manipulatives.

Sometimes it helps to go backwards-- start with a number, say 5. What are all the different ways we can show 5? Not only the related facts, but the word five, tally marks, the Roman numeral V, etc.

We also really like the Learning Wrap Ups around here. They're great for independent practice and they self-correcting.

[One_Girl]

This is not a hill I would die on. My dd didn't start to internalize any math facts until just recently, not even when adding one more to something though she did get doubles very easily. We did adding and subtracting problems everyday, we did lots of board games and still do, and she enjoyed herself, we even moved on to regrouping and she loved it and understands it, but she didn't have any motivation to internalize and it just hasn't even started happening until recently. I stressed about it for a long time and made her do flash cards daily for four months and then just stopped because it wasn't doing anything except making me frustrated because it was doing no good at all. Kids this age are definitely old enough to memorize facts if they want to, I did when I was a kid though I still used my fingers when I was doing a test because it was stressful, but I don't think you can make them do it if they don't care to.

[AAK]

For games:
Shut the box
War (but instead of laying one card down--each person lays two down and adds the the total first)

BTW: I think its great that he already has doubles, etc down. I think he will have the rest in no time. And, we are doing Singapore math too--so far we have been able to move on without any problems. My dd doesn't use fingers anymore, but does have to stop and think a second before putting down the answer. She is on 2A.

Amy

[Mama Rana]

Originally Posted by annettemarie

Dice games are great. Sometimes I'll just give my kids two dice and have them roll them and add them. Dominoes can work for this too-- pull one out, add the sides together.

We also tell a lot of stories and act hem out with manipulatives.

Sometimes it helps to go backwards-- start with a number, say 5. What are all the different ways we can show 5? Not only the related facts, but the word five, tally marks, the Roman numeral V, etc.

We also really like the Learning Wrap Ups around here. They're great for independent practice and they self-correcting.

Hey Annette!

He did A LOT of dice games last year at school, to the point that I felt it became busy work. So I've avoided those, but maybe he's ready again. And he loves dominoes, so I should pull those out.

What are Learning Wrap Ups?

[pink gal]

My 6 yo DD loves the board game SUM SWAMP. You add and subtract to move forward through a board picturing a swamp. It's really helped her learn her math facts.

http://www.educationallearninggames....-math-game.asp

[annettemarie]

http://learningwrapups.com/

Katie Grace is using them for multiplication, but she's in 4th. Thinking about it, it would probably not be a great idea if he has any sort of small motor issues because it could be frustrating.

[christinar]

I second Shut the Box - Rainbow Resource had a great one that went up to 12 last year.

Also, the best thing I've figured out so far is playing Bingo. I made a game sheet with the numbers generated here: http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tool...rials/bingo/5/. My dd is memorizing math facts for sums from 9-24, so I used those numbers, and pulled those cards out of the flashcard pile. We use buttons for pieces. Very, very easy, and it's her favorite thing to do - she chooses it first, even though she doesn't like "doing" flashcards.

I set the timer and we do 1 min of flashcards, and then play a round or two of Bingo (whoever gets three lines first). She gets through a ton of flashcards this way, and really enjoys it.

[ChinaDoll]

Originally Posted by 425lisamarie

Have you checked out math mammoth? Her worksheets are FABULOUS. not only do they read 1 + 3 = 4, but gets them thinking backwards and forwards by one missing number, writting a sentence that equals 4, etc. I highly recommend it. She has tons of sample pages, and it's CHEAP. I was kind of shocked how good it is, cheap,and how much DS loves math

I highly, highly, highly recommend Math Mammoth for learning the fact families!

However, at age 6 I would also pause and do lots of games to reinforce, and just expect that retention of these facts will come with maturity and exposure. We switched from Singapore to Math Mammoth last year over frustration that we couldn't go on without having those facts memorized. We're LOVING Math Mammoth, AND they have now internalized the facts.

[425lisamarie]

Originally Posted by ChinaDoll

I highly, highly, highly recommend Math Mammoth for learning the fact families!

However, at age 6 I would also pause and do lots of games to reinforce, and just expect that retention of these facts will come with maturity and exposure. We switched from Singapore to Math Mammoth last year over frustration that we couldn't go on without having those facts memorized. We're LOVING Math Mammoth, AND they have now internalized the facts.

YES! And what annettmarie said about starting backwards, like with sum of 5 and how to get there.....her worksheets practice that a TON, which readies them for subtraction without really knowing it.

Another thing I though to that has helped is I have those giant posters that you can get at learning stores. Like math tables, weather facts, calendars etc. One has all the math facts and then I have a multiplication table and a number line. I have two easels and on one of them I have a ton of posters laminated and on rings so you can flip them on the easel. He looks at it often and it's just one more reinforcement. Oh, I have a skip counting one too, that one is good because while it's important to learn the pattern of skip counting, it's also a lot of just memory.