Why Work on Fluency?
These 5 tips for memorizing math facts will have students increasing their fluency with math facts. Fluency is being able to recall from memory, or quickly and easily determine the answer. We’ve all experienced the frustration that students have when they tentatively work their way through solving a problem and get totally off-track when they have to find the answer to a simple math fact! Here are 5 tips on how to memorize math facts making recalling math facts easier and more effective.
Start With Skip Counting
Introduce multiplication facts by skip counting. If a student can skip count by a number, they have all the possible answers, or products, of that multiplier. 3, 6, 9, 12…. gives the brain a chance to “connect” to a familiar number. It grows confidence and knowing the multiples of a number will come in handy later when we get to fractions!
Think Of It As Groups
When students are first learning about multiplication, it is helpful to talk about 2 x 3 as 2 groups of 3. This visual picture can help students remember facts while deepening their understanding of what multiplication is. If students still skip count to find the answer, it is a great “mind map” of how many times to count what number.
Emphasize Facts 0 through 6
The beauty of what we call the commutative property of multiplication is that once you know 2 x 6, you also know 6 x 2. A fun way to show students they’re making progress is to cross out the facts on a multiplication table they know and then double that number by crossing the “turn around” fact. 0s, 1s, and 2s are typically easily learned so students can focus on 3s, 4s, and 5s. Download your printable here.
Use Strategies
For some students, memorizing is just not in the cards! Reassure them it is not a big deal and teach them to use alternative strategies. I still have to think of 8 x 6 as 4 x 6 and double it. There are so many shortcuts and tricks to use that just increase students’ number competence, or agility.
Practice Often, In Different Ways
The last of the 5 tips for memorizing math facts is to mix it up. Make it fun by playing multiplication games in teams of two. Rolling two six-sided dice is perfect for practicing facts up to 6 x 6. Triangle Flashcards and Multiplication Dab Its are great for students who work solo. If practice is fun, and students feel like they are making progress, fluency will come!
