Math Games & Math Fact Fluency in Grades 2-5

 

In our first two weeks of elementary math class (grades 2-5), we played several games of logic such as Qwirkle and Sudoku. These games allowed us to get to know each other while also setting the context for us to have some important class conversations. We discussed seeking challenges, having a growth mindset, and also agreed upon norms for how we will interact as a community of mathematicians throughout the school year. 

We also began playing some games to promote greater math fact fluency and each student was interviewed 1-on-1 to establish a baseline level for their math fact fluency. As we work to develop our math fact fluency throughout the school year, we will focus first on understanding and flexible use of strategies. From there, automaticity will naturally follow, but students will never participate in timed exercises/tests. Evidence shows this causes anxiety and encourages students to revert away from developing strategies and instead to memorize without understanding. I encourage parents to discuss math facts with their children in the context of situations that arise in everyday life. If/when your child encounters one they do not know, encourage them to use a fact they do know to derive an answer rather than simply counting (for addition/subtraction) or skip counting (for multiplication/division); for example, to solve 9x9 a student may use a known fact of 9x10 and then take away one group of 9 (90-9 = 81).