Memorizing Math Facts

[psreit]

My dd is 3rd grade doing Bigger this year. She has always struggled with math, even simple addition and subtraction. She can do addition in her head, but subtraction, she still needs something to visually count. At the advice of my evaluator, I made some changes in her math which pushed her back more, grade level-wise. I am skimming over things she already knows, but I don't want to rush through those things she is struggling with. My question is, how much should I push her to memorize facts? I know in the past this has been a topic of discussion. She knows how to get an answer using objects to count, but how long should I let her use those? If I don't give her something, she will use her fingers anyway. I can practice fact cards, but how much do I push them. Just a little practice once in a while or daily. Since she is in a lower grade level, I was just going to allow her to use counters for a while. She will have to be tested in the spring.

[lmercon]

This is purely my personal opinion, but as a former ps teacher and now hs mom, I have never understood the need to memorize add and sub facts! If you teach mental strategies, such as the ones in Singapore Math, there is no need to force that much rote data to memory. Now, I have a differing opinion of mult. facts. They should be memorized. Division facts are just reverse mult. facts, so no need to memorize them.

If she is strong with addition, just have her use a mental strategy to figure out subtraction problems using addition.

11-4 = ?

How many do we need to add to 4 to get to 11? She could count up, or better yet - How many do we need to get to 10? (That should be easy.) Now, add one more to get to 11.

Personally, I would let her use some form of manipulative for as long as she needs them. All the while, model for her how to figure it mentally. Eventually, she will be able to grasp those concepts and move on from concrete to more abstract thinking.

hth,
Laura

[amysconfections]

I require memorizing of multiplication facts but not addition and subtraction. Xtramath.com is a great free site to practice on. I printed timed drills for my sons. We have done them for a week now and they have dramatically improved. This is 5 min a day. That's it. I can't believe how well it has worked.

[Tansy]

if you pm me I have a great add on that engages the childs nuro pathways. At the advice of my kids nuro therapist I used the program it took her extra long to learn the facts but she has them down cold. (I sometimes refer to it as Pavlov's dog Math cause if you give her a problem she just says the answer she can't help herself) This makes all the other pieces of math easier to hang on to. She actually loves multiplication causes it so easy... this is child that used to burst into tears when I pulled out the math book.

I also use a program My nuro therapist calls "visual math" along side Singapore, My kids mental math skills are non existent it totally confuses her to hold on to that many pieces of information. I'm totally fine with her drawing 5 dots and counting up to add 38 and 5, or drawing 14 dots and crossing off 6. Some kids are so concrete in their thinking, giving them tools to cope when they get overwhelmed helps a lot.