Math Fact Automaticity

When Number Sense isn't Enough

My daughter has a great number sense.  She understands what it means to add, subtract, multiply and divide.  She can skip count all the numbers from 1 to 15. Skip counting means to count by a certain number (3, 6, 9, 12, …) But even with all this understanding, she was still struggling to get her math work finished. 

The reason?

She did not have her math facts memorized. 

She could use five or more strategies to solve a math problem, but nothing was helping her recall her math facts quickly.  A worksheet of 20 problems would take her 45 minutes to an hour and many tears to complete.

I love our math curriculum, Life of Fred.  But my daughter needed to sharpen her math facts.

I used an abacus.  We worked with counters.  Base 10 blocks.  Number bonds, ten frames.  We’ve used pictures to help us remember math facts.  Flash cards. Games.  You name it.  I’ve tried it.  Nothing was sticking.

Kicking It to the Rescue

I am happy to report that I finally found something that works for her.  Please understand that memorizing math facts is not a substitute for teaching math reasoning skills, understanding, and number sense. However, at some point children need to know their math facts.  Leigh Bortins, the founder of Classical Conversations, a national homeschooling program that we use, says that,

“When the basic facts [of mathematics] are obvious, we have the mental space to investigate the obscure, the unknown and the unfamiliar.”

 

Let me introduce you to my favorite math speed drill program: Kicking It!  I bought Kicking It from teacherspayteachers.com.  The author, Kelly Malloy, was a middle school math teacher who noticed that her students did not have their math facts memorized, and therefore were unable do the fractions, decimals, and pre-algebra problems the class required.  If you don’t know how to divide, you can’t reduce fractions. Kelly vowed that if she ever taught elementary math, she would make sure that her students graduated from her class equipped with basic math facts.  She kept her promise by developing this program. (I do not know Kelly Malloy personally, but if she had a fan club, I would be the president.)

Students earn dog tag "belts" as they
work through the program.

 

The Kicking It Difference

When I taught second grade, I used a math drill program called the Mighty Math Club. It worked fairly well, but students were required to memorize all the ones facts, then when they had mastered the ones, they went on to the twos, and so on.  Each new speed drill had 12 new facts they had to master.  This was overwhelming for some students.

 

Kicking It is different because each test (lettered A-Z) only has two new facts and their reciprocal facts.  For example, In Kicking It Multiplication, the A test has only 1 x 1  through 1 x 12.  (Ones are easy!)  But the B test has 1 x 1 through 1 x12, and two new facts  2x2, 2x3 and its reciprocal fact 3 x 2.  Once that test has been passed, the student goes to test C that has the ones facts, 2x2, 2x3, 3x2, and two new facts and their reciprocals 2x4, 2x5, 4x2, 5x2.  Memorizing the facts just a little bit at a time is so much easier.  Another reason I think Kelly Malloy is a genius, is that she does not always introduce the math facts in order.  Students learn the 9s and 8s facts sometimes before the 3s and 4s.  For some reason, the higher facts take some students a longer time to learn.

 

Three Parts to Kicking It

Part 1: Students are to practice flashcards, introduced in the same order as the A-Z tests. 

Part 2: Students have one minute to practice ring facts.  This consists of 29 math facts that they try to recite and answer in one minute or less. These are printed on colored paper and have belts, similar to karate belts, that they try to earn.  Every time they pass 4 of the timed tests, they get a new “belt” with new facts to master.

Part 3: These are the timed tests lettered A-Z.  Each test has 60 problems. Students work on the same test each day until they can answer all the problems in 2 minutes and 40 seconds or less.  (One minute is preferable, but some children can’t write that quickly).

 

If you want to read more about this amazing program, I highly suggest you go to the source.  Kelly Malloy has an excellent blog post about it.

 

Happily Ever After

My daughter after she earned her First Degree Blackbelt
Multiplication facts 1-9. She has now mastered 1-12.

My eight year old son has a purple belt in multiplication, and my daughter now has passed the entire multiplication program with a third degree black belt in multiplication. She is now working to earn a yellow belt in division. She can look at a math fact, and write the answer without having to think about it.  It is automatic.  Remember that quote from Leigh Bortins? My daughter is now able to focus on things like fractions, factoring, and other harder math skills because multiplication is easy for her.   A two digit by one digit multiplication worksheet with 20 problems used to take my daughter over an hour.  A few weeks ago, she completed  one in just seven minutes.  She told me that this is her favorite math program she has ever used.  “Math used to be hard for me, Mom.  Now I just know the answers.  It’s a nice feeling.”

 

Some modifications that worked for our family:

1. I put the lettered tests in page protectors.  My children use a dry erase marker to write the answers.

2. Instead of using a timer, I used a stopwatch.  I wrote the time it took for my children to solve all 60 problems directly on the test.

3. I allow a test to be passed if they can solve all the problems accurately in under 5 minutes.  My daughter has dyslexia and my son has some anxiety and other special needs, and this worked better for us.  However, I have my children do two tests a day.  First, they complete the test they have been working on.  Then they go back to an earlier test and try to complete it in under 2 minutes and 40 seconds.  My daughter has completed all the tests in multiplication in under 5 minutes, and tests A-O in under 2 minutes and 40 seconds.

4. I take the tests, too.  It makes my children more eager to learn when they see me working beside them.  And let me tell you, passing the test under 60 seconds is hard for me.  I average one minute and eight seconds. To learn more about this process, read my apprenticeship blog post.

Students compare the "Wax On; Wax Off"
concept to memorizing math facts.

5. Several students in our homeschooling community are working through Kicking It. Once in a while we get together to play some math games and a real MMA Sensei teaches some basic martial arts skills to go with the Ninja themed program.

 

Playing Kicking It! math games

I have only used Kicking It! Multiplication and Division, but Kelly Malloy also has Kicking It programs in addition, subtraction, and factors.(I’m excited about the factors program!)

 

If your child is struggling with their math facts, I highly recommend Kicking It!

Are you interested in a Spelling Program that takes a similar approach?  You can read about the spelling program I created here.  You can purchase Automatic Spelling here.