Basic Facts

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Basic Facts
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Basic Facts

• What are they?
• Why should students memorize basic facts?

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Why Basic Facts Instruction?

• Frees up working memory to master algorithms and
  math applications.
• Cognitive psychology research points to the value
  of automatic recall of facts.
• Students who do not memorize facts flounder when
  more complex math is introducedprogress for
  these student can end at elementary school.

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Math Wars (Strauss, Washington Post, Jan. 05)

• Among the topics the NCTM and the mathematicians
  said they agreed on
• Heavy reliance on calculators in the early
  elementary grades is a bad idea.
• Elementary school children must have automatic
  recall of number facts, meaning that, yes, they
  have to memorize multiplication tables.
• Children must master basic algorithms. The
  meeting participants spent time defining the word
  "algorithm,"which means a set of rules for
  solving a problem in a finite number of steps.

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Teaching Math Facts

• Three types of instructional activities
• Understanding
• Relationships
• Memorization
• What are these activities? Why?

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Relationship Activities

• Exercises based on a series (e.g., 3x1, 3x2, 3x2)
• Exercises based on fact families and inverse
  operations (e.g., 5-23, 5-32, 235, 325)
• Purpose of these exercises is to make
  memorization easier

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Preskill for Relationships

• Plus-one FactsFormat 6.1, page 90
• Teaches facts and relationships.
• Rule When you plus one you say the next number.
• Model Part A and B.

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Plus-one Facts

• Part C
• 8 1
• 4 1
• 7 1
• 5 1
• 9 1
• (Your turnformat practice!)

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Series Saying

• Prompts students to notice the counting
  relationship
• 6 2 8 5 x 2 10
• 7 2 9 5 x 3 15
• 8 2 10 5 x 4 20
• 5 x 5 25

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Series Saying

• Format 6.2 Model and Practice
• Part A Reading the Statements
• Part B Reading the Statements with the Answer
  Erased
• Part C Saying the Statements (No visual
  prompts)
• Part D Random Fact Drill

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Series Saying

• Format 6.2 Model and Practice
• Teaching behaviors
• 3-2 seconds per statement
• Timing for each statement
• Practice, practice, practice and make it fun!
• Correction for slow pacelead and work on
  increasing the pace
• Correction for statement error?

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Three Number Fact Families

• Sets of three numbers from which students can
  create 4 statements.
• Eitheraddition and subtraction or multiplication
  and division.
• Teach commutative property of addition (a b c
  and b a c) and multiplication (a x b c and
  b x a c).
• Why is the commutative property important?

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Three Number Fact Families

• Format 6.3
• Part Ahow to construct pairs (big number
  introduced)
• Part Boral test on the reverse fact
• Part Cworksheet, filling in the big number and
  generating the two facts

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Three Number Fact Families

• Format 6.4
• Family of Facts for Subtraction and Division.
  Teaches students how to generate 4 statements (2
  addition and 2 subtractions or 2 multiplication
  and 2 division).
• 2 x 5 10, 5 x 2 10, 10/5 2, 10/2 5
• Students learn the rule when you subtract (or
  divide), you always start with the big number.

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Three Number Fact Families Model and Practice