I have found that teaching math fact strategies and letting students practice in a fun way is the best way for students to master their basic facts.

At the beginning of my teaching journey, students started to get burned out on timed tests. We used them as practice for math facts everyday and I could tell most of my students were becoming frustrated and less motivated the more we did them. Some students were just stuck! They could not get past certain facts. Everytime they pulled out their timed tests, there were groans. It felt repetitive and meaningless. I knew I needed to change something.

I thought about how I could make learning math meaningful and engaging for my students. Then it came to me! Students learn reading strategies for comprehension, so why not teach strategies to figure out math facts? Instead of timed tests for math fact practice, I started to teach math fact strategies and integrate math games into our instruction.

Teaching math fact strategies and incorporating play into math fact practice changed everything in our classroom! Students were able to use strategies as a tool to quickly find an answer to math facts. They saw patterns within the numbers and facts. As they practiced math facts in an engaging way, they became fluent in addition and subtraction facts.

What amazed me most is that students wanted to practice math facts! It was no longer rote memorization. But rather they learned the meaning behind the concepts. During inside recess, I would have students ask if they could play a math fact card game instead of playing with legos and other toys in our classroom. 

Check out my blog posts to help you get started with teaching math facts in a fun and meaningful way.