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    How to boost fact knowledge and retention with these tested strategies

    How to boost fact knowledge and retention with these tested strategies

    You’ve been teaching your students their multiplication facts. It’s been a couple weeks but they seem to be getting it by the end of math class on Monday, so you’re feeling pretty good. Your students come back to class on Tuesday and you throw out some easy warm-up problems: 4 x 2, 3 x 5.

    And...crickets.

    It’s as if you never taught the concept! In my classroom, I sometimes felt like I was teaching and reteaching the same math facts over and over again. 

    What’s your next move?

    1. Devote 5 minutes at the beginning of math class to practice verbally skip counting.
    2. Find some storybooks in your library that are related to multiplication. Use these storybooks for your read aloud the next few days.
    3. Whip out those counters and start making groups: 4 groups of 2 counters and 3 groups of 5 counters, etc.
    4. Spend 15 minutes twice a week playing multiplication board games with your students in stations.

    My answer might surprise you! Keep reading to find out what it is...

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    The truth about fact fluency: what your 3rd-grade teacher didn’t know

    The truth about fact fluency: what your 3rd-grade teacher didn’t know

    Too often, we overemphasize speed and underemphasize understanding and fluency in the math classroom. Learning math facts can be especially tricky for students with disabilities, who might have difficulty memorizing facts and trouble seeing relationships between related facts.

    Remember those timed fluency drills your 3rd-grade teacher assigned? Turns out those drills aren't great at building true fact fluency!

    Today, I want to share what it really means to acquire “fact fluency.” Keep reading to find out why speed isn’t important and why flexible thinking is at the core of fluency.

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