Saturday, August 25, 2012

Fact Fluency

Your student will bring home four fact fluency assessments on Monday. Fluency in these basic facts is essential to performing nearly all subsequent math (geometry is an exception) with proficiency. My rubric is as follows:

25 questions, 3 seconds per fact for a minute and fifteen seconds per assessment.

Extending = 25 correct answers
Achieving = 23, 24 correct answers
Progressing Achieving = 22, 21 correct answers
Progressing = 20 correct answers
Beginning Progressing = 19 correct answers
Beginning = 18 or fewer correct answers

I will teach fact fluency based on strategies, rather than memorization. Assigning a strategy (or strategies) to a fact provides students with a more meaningful and stronger path to recall. Many facts have multiple strategies. Therefore, students have multiple pathways to a quick and accurate sum or difference. Subtraction will be taught by counting up from the smaller value to the larger value.

I stress with students that these initial assessments are not for grades, but for a baseline so I can measure growth and determine who may need additional support. They should not be stressed, only try their best.

The following chart shows how we will learn the strategies we will use for addition fact fluency. I introduced zero more, one more and doubles. I prefer to introduce doubles before two more to give students more time with this essential strategy (as near doubles is dependent on doubles). During class I will frequently quiz students on which strategy/ies they can apply to a fact problem, rather than the sum.


+/-
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
2
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
3
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
4
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
5
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
6
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
7
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
8
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
9
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
10
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20


Zero more
One more
Two more
Doubles
Near doubles
Sums to ten
Make ten (7's, 8's, 9's)
Memorize


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