When you were a student in elementary school, did you have to complete the timed math fact tests? These were the ones that often made the palms so sweaty that the pencil was hard to grip on to. Additionally, to make the situation even worse, errors were made due to the clock ticking away. While these assessments were made with the best intentions, they did not always produce accurate data. In a society filled with more stress and anxiety, these tests are doing the same to students. It is vital to remember why math fact fluency is important when developing high-quality lessons for students. Also, fun activities like these Math Fact Fluency Boom Cards will be educational and fun for students to complete!
What is Math Fact Fluency?
Math fact fluency is being able to answer basic math facts quickly and accurately. In addition to this, students naturally can produce the number. Therefore, they no longer need to count on fingers or draw visuals to solve problems. When given a fact, students can automatically answer it with little to no effort.
Math Fact Fluency Benefits
Stronger Understanding of More Complex Concepts
Almost every concept in math is based upon math facts. Whether it is addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, nearly everything involves these aspects. Therefore, it is vital that students have a strong foundation of math fact fluency. Additionally, when students do not have to use a fluency strategy, such as counting on fingers, time can be spent on the new skill. However, chaos can occur in the brain when trying to compute a fact and learning a new skill. Math fact fluency helps ensure students can focus on math concepts as they become more complex. Therefore, students will gain a stronger understanding as they progress through math!
Less Math Anxiety
Due to how difficult the subject can be, many children have anxiety when it comes to math. However, this does not have to be the case. If students have strong math skills, they can have less math anxiety. Instead of worrying about how to solve the basic fact, they can focus on the skill being taught. Since math facts are the basis of knowledge, they are a huge factor behind anxiety levels. Therefore, math fact fluency creates an open mind when learning new skills.
Life Skills
School is all about getting students prepared for life. Therefore, math fact fluency is essential! For example, students will need to buy groceries, go shopping, and may go out to dinner. Math facts are embedded into each of these items. Additionally, it is important to teach students how to solve problems without needing to pull out a calculator for every situation.
Center Based Instruction
Each year, more classrooms are moving towards center-based instruction. By doing this, students are moving, engaged, and receiving small group help. However, centers can be tough to plan! Therefore, it is so important to have a solid plan on what is occurring at each center. For example, whenever developing math activities for third grade, using a planner is highly beneficial. This FREE Template for Math Centers will help teachers implement centers in a stress-free way.
Math Fact Fluency
When planning centers, consistency is key. Therefore, one center may always be based on math fact fluency. Students can never have too much practice on this skill when it is used throughout life! These Multiplication Boom Cards provide 40 Slides to practice 5’s fluency on. Best of all, students will gain confidence when multiplying by 5! For instance, students may begin the cards needing to use the 5’s finger strategy to solve problems. However, the goal will be to learn the 5’s fluency and not need this strategy anymore! Thus, these Boom Cards are a great tool to help build confidence and improve fluency. You might also like these winter Boom cards.
Math fact fluency may begin in elementary school but it continues all throughout life. The sooner students learn their facts, the faster they will be able to learn more complex skills. Additionally, they will be less stressed out while learning new concepts!
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