Store bought flashcards

My son's school provided kids with a subscription to Reflex Math. By the middle of second grade, he had mastered all addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts from 1-12.

my now-4th grader like sushi monster. He got to blow up asteroids after getting a few problems right.

This worked beautifully for my kids, and they enjoyed it.

http://www.flashmaster.com

OP again. We tried xtramath tonight and it went well. He liked the feedback and that it told him when he was done.

Thanks to all. He knows them or at least knows how to figure them out, but isn't quick at all and it causes frustration. I will look into some of the sites and apps suggested and we will keep using the flashcards. We will work on multiplication this summer to hopefully make 3rd grade easier. I'm not looking for him to get ahead, just for him not to hate math.

DD loves the handheld Mathshark toy. Especially great for the car. (It reminds me of the Little Professor, which I loved as a kid!)

http://www.amazon.com/Educational-Insights-8490-EDUCATIONAL-MATHSHARK/dp/B00000IRMM

I think we got it for less somewhere, but I can't remember where. I'm guessing DD will continue to get lots of use out of it next year when it's time to learn multiplication and division facts, too . . . .

Do you feel like he doesn't know the answers, or just the the can't do them really fast? Some kids choke on speed when it is abstract, but can pull the answer to mind quickly when in the context of a more complex problem.

In any case, I suggest using multiple methods (sight, written, interactive, aural) and doing just a little each day. Flashcards one day, write out the tables or do a worksheet another day, a game app the next, sing or make up songs on another day (like school house rock). Create a fact grid and as he masters a number, let him cross off the corresponding lines on the grid. Help him find patterns to show that if you know __ then you also know __.

There is a math game online that my kids used to play. It's a timed course where you have to quickly calculate the math problem to get to the next level. I can't remember what it's called. Maybe google some "fun" math games that require quick calculations?

Anonymous wrote:I think this is pretty common with common core. Kids seem to understand the concepts well but the rote memorization isn't there and can hinder things when the concepts get more complex. The only way to get faster is to practice a lot.

Both my kids have learned math under CC standards. They both are pretty quick with mental calculations now (5th and 2nd). By 2nd grade, they should be doing some quick calculation math strategies, like "make a 10", "doubles", etc.., at least, they do in our mcps "low-rated" ES. I don't think this is necessarily a CC issue, but maybe a teacher/method/kid issue.

For addition and subtraction was just a lot of drills and flash cards. My daughter is a visual learner so for multiplication it's charts pasted around the house and in front of her seat in the car and drills, and flashcards.

The thing about multiplication is it only really comes down to 7 X 7. Teach them the tricks for 0, 1, 9, 10, and 11. Done in less than a day to master all these numbers. Then with respect to 2, 3, and 5 it's all about counting by those numbers - 2, 4, 6, 8 or 3, 6, 9, or 5, 10, 15, etc... which they did in K. Done in about 3-4 days to remind them multiplying is repeated addition and it's about counting by those numbers. Once 2 and 3 are mastered, 4, 6, and 8 are easy because you're doubling or doubling twice (for 8). Done in about 2 days because doubling or doubling twice is easy for kids. So that really only leaves you with 7 but since you know all the other numbers, you're only left with 7 X 7. A child can memorize 49 and be done. Once you get that it's just drill, drill drill for speed. It's easier than people realize and not as daunting as thinking there is so much to memorize.

Another trick for 7 X 7 that I teach is if you know 4X7 and 3X7 (5 and 3 are easier for kids to remember) and you add the answers, then you get 7 X 7 OR if you know 5X7 and 2X7 and you add then you get 7 X 7. I think being really good at addition makes learning multiplication take less than a week because you can employ a lot of math hacks. There is nothing wrong with math hacks. You do them enough times you start to memorize answers without the hacks.

With division, all I had to say was it was the reverse of multiplication and she got it without much drilling.

I remember having to fill out that giant chart/grid with all the multiplications tables on it... I think we did it like everyday. And there was a race in the class to see who could get the chart done the fastest.

Perhaps you could do something similar, timed. Set a goal. Practice every day. When you reach the goal, have a celebration with whatever reward you both have decided on.

Do they give timed math tests at school? Studying for those usually helped my DD. Old fashion way: looking at equation/fact, memorizing it, covering it with hand, then testing self.

I found that flash cards and repetition were the things that worked. Early on we used objects to demonstrate the concepts of addition and subtraction. But after my kids understood what it meant to add and subtract it was pure memorization. Mine happened to really like flash cards. Surprisingly to me, my worst student of my three actually learned his math facts fastest.

Dreambox is wasteful