Each month you see a "facts in a flash" sheet come home. The number at the top is the number your child got correct in a 3-minute timed test. There are 64 problems per sheet. When a child gets 60 or more correct in the 3 minutes they can then move onto the next operation.
We talk about having "fact power" and the importance of knowing your facts quickly so that you don't even have to stop to figure them out. Of course, like anything, improvement comes with practice, practice, practice. That being said, I've decided that I will be sending math fact practice home on occasion.
Some of the strategies that we've learned are: +0 and +1 facts, doubles facts and turn-around facts. We've also talked about using your doubles facts to figure out problems that are near doubles. For example, if you know that 8+8=16 then you can quickly figure out that 8+9=17. It's important for children to have these strategies and utilize them when practicing facts. It's much like using decoding strategies when reading and the more you practice, the more automatic they become.
Each and everyone of my brilliant second graders have been improving each month!
