Math Facts Fluency: May the Force Be With You!

Math facts fluency....AH... how I love thee! Yes, that is correct! I love teaching my kids their basic math facts! What? Am I a bit crazy? Maybe.

Math facts fluency is one of the most dreaded things to teach for many teachers. I, however, love it in my classroom! But most importantly, my kids LOVE it! They look forward to their math facts test each week. They "remind" me every Thursday that it is math fact test time! If we run out of time on Thursday, there is a TON of moaning and groaning. I make it a point to not skip math facts tests!

The class goal is for each student to pass their leveled math test each week. They need to complete 50 problems in 3 minutes. This is a suggested time, but works best for most of my students. You can also 15 and 25 question pages if that best suits your students' needs. 

We keep a class chart to show progress towards mastery. Each time a student passes a test, they get a sticker next to their name. 

I also use individual student charts and keep them in a binder to track student progress. These are great for student conferences. It is a clear visual to show how many weeks a student is on each level or how quickly they are moving through the levels.

To help with organization of the leveled tests, I pre-copy a class set of each level of the 50 question math tests so they are at my finger tips ready to go each week. I also have color coded sheet of flash cards for my kiddos copied. After they pass a level, I give them a new set of cards to cut out and put on a ring to keep at their desk to study throughout the week. 

After the students take their tests and they have been corrected, they go home with one of these awards. If they pass their test, they get a slip that congratulates them and tells them which level to study for the following week. If they don't pass, they get a slip encouraging them to continue practicing for the same test next week. 

My students love the Star Wars theme! They can't wait to become Math Facts Jedi Knights!

Are you ready to get your students on the road to mastering their math facts? Click the picture above to grab your set of addition and subtraction progress charts for FREE! Make sure to head on over to Bright Concepts 4 Teachers for more fun math ideas too.