My name is Nate, and I attended Self Development for nine years (Preschool-8th grade). Let me say… I have loved every minute of it. The students are kind, the teachers know what they are doing, and they strive to help you. The programs have more than prepared me for the road ahead. I learned ALGEBRA II and started PRE-CALCULUS in only 8th grade. Thank you, Self Development Academy, for all you have done in my life.”
Nate’s comments are echoed by many other students of Self Development Academy-Mesa (SDA-Mesa), a school that focuses on many foundational skills necessary for success in school and life. Established nearly 25 years ago, SDA-Mesa provides a challenging and rigorous curriculum in a nurturing and supportive environment, ensuring the well-being and future success of our students.
At SDA-Mesa, we understand parents’ pivotal role in their child’s educational success. Research consistently shows that when parents are actively involved in their child’s education, it leads to higher academic performance, increased student engagement, and positive social and behavioral outcomes. Your involvement is not just beneficial; it’s a responsibility and a commitment to your child’s future.
While emphasizing the importance of the home-school partnership, SDA-Mesa would like to share one of the critical areas in which parents can help pave the path for their children’s school success in elementary grades, high school, and college. One area that lays the foundation for school success and later in life is the automatic recall of math facts.
WHAT IS MATH FACT FLUENCY AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Math is a fundamental part of our daily lives. As parents, it’s our responsibility to help children understand and learn math concepts from an early age so they can solve more complex problems. Math facts are the building blocks of math. Mastering math facts and recalling them with proficiency and fluency builds confidence and equips children to solve higher-level problems. By ensuring your child is automatic in recalling math facts, you’re setting them up for success in their academic journey.
Math facts fluency refers to recalling the basic facts in all four operations accurately, quickly, and effortlessly. When students achieve automaticity with these facts, they have attained mastery that enables them to retrieve them for long-term memory without conscious effort or attention.
WAYS TO PRACTICE MATH FACTS FLUENCY
There are many efficient and fun ways to teach math facts to your children. The key to learning math facts is repetition, repetition, and repetition.
Your children must practice daily to become fluent in math facts. Teach a limited number of math facts at a time. Make up a game with some rhyme or rhythm and repeatedly recite the facts in all four operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, depending on the child’s age. Stating the facts rhythmically helps young children memorize easily and with fond associations. You can find many daily opportunities to help children learn math facts.
Children must be able to recall each fact within two seconds. The approach to reviewing math facts informally involves the following process: “You say the fact in a sentence format (five plus 7 equals 12), they repeat it” several times, for 2 to 3 minutes each time. This approach is an easy way of helping students memorize while you continue your daily activities. There is rote learning involved in mastery of math facts.
Another approach to helping children learn math facts is playing different math games for 15 minutes daily. Some fun games include Go Fish, Math Fact War, Math Fact Bingo, and other board games. Playing card games will help your children gain fluency in math and problem-solving.
BENEFITS OF LEARNING MATH FACTS
There are many benefits to developing fluency in math facts. Through automaticity, students free up their working memory and can devote it to problem-solving and learning new concepts and skills. Fluency in math facts lessens confusion and reduces math anxiety. Math anxiety starts when children fall behind and can’t keep up with math problem-solving. To avoid these anxieties, students in early elementary years should focus on learning the foundation math skills needed for later years – math facts are among those essential math skills.
Students free up their working memory through automaticity and can solve more complex problems. A lack of fluency in math fact recall significantly slows subsequent progress with algebra and higher-order math concepts. With an emphasis on learning math facts at Self Development Academy, students can take high-level math in middle school.
To learn more about Self Development Academy-Mesa, please contact (480) 641-2640.