first grade math fail

[lil' maids in a row]

Boy have I got the blues. I have been doing first grade math with dd7 since last June. We have worked consistently and diligently, but she still doesn't know her math facts. We completed all of Singapore 1a, we are finishing up the first half of mep (Singapore wasn't a good fit so we started mep mid -year), we have read a couple Fred books. We practice the facts EVERYDAY, I have used flashcards, computer games, file folder games, wrap ups, hot dots, card games, speed drills, worksheets, songs (all on top of the practice in the curriculum) . We have kept it fun and positive, but we haven't made much progress.

 

What do I do? We already spend well over an hour on math (don't worry the kid isn't suffering too much, it includes games and activities, reading Fred etc.) . I don't feel like I can add MORE. Dd also struggles with anxiety, so anything that involves pressure or stress is out (I had to ditch flashcards and speed drills) .

 

Do I need to do something different or just wait for it to click?

 

 

 

Btw -she does a great job with the rest of her math work. She gets the concepts she just can't master the facts.

[ErinE]

I had the same problem. Having used SM 1-4, I think SM1 is the weakest of the group. I had dd re-do first grade math with MM. We spent months just making numbers and reviewing facts. I also put c-rods on the table so she could use them during math. We also moved on to other topics and reviewed facts separately.

[SorrelZG]

I don't know of any math curriculum that expects math facts to be memorized by the end of first grade. Second grade, yes (thinking of something I read from the author of MM), but not first.

[km123175]

My 8 year old sounds a lot like yours. We did 1st grade math 3 years in a ROW! UGGG. I felt like I had failed, then I realized - her brain just wasn't ready to get it yet. Finally this year - actually within the last 6 months - she does finally get the relationship of numbers. She still has to think of some facts, but she can figure it out and to me that's way more important than having it memorized. We finally are into the 2nd grade math book. We're almost at the 1/2 way part of it. So, for us - this is major progress since we started 2nd grade with the 1st day of 1st grade math again!

 

The flash cards and such were stressing my daughter out too; so, we just kept working on her conceptual abilities. Since she does "get it" now, her speed has increased with her facts as well - but not a speed demon by any stretch and if I put a timer on her it'd be back to square 1.

 

I don't have much other insight to offer.

[warneral]

Do you have a tablet? My kids like math bingo and other math apps.

 

It is not a fail, it just hasn't clicked yet. More practice will help :)

[warneral]

Do you have a tablet? My kids like math bingo and other math apps.

 

It is not a fail, it just hasn't clicked yet. More practice will help :)

[3monkeys]

My ds just finished grade 1 and has not memorized facts either. He's not much on memorizing anything though! I will say the more pressure I put on him by timing, drilling etc., made things worse. So I decided to let it go as long as he understood how to get the answer. Amazingly he learned more facts on his own by doing the problems and seeing them over and over and using his manipulatives. He may be more ready to drill by 2nd grade, who knows! He took his final test today for math and missed only 1 problem out of 40. So I consider that to be just fine! Oh and I may try www.xtramath.com this summer. Be sure to change settings to 6 seconds instead of 3. Also type their answers for them. it frees them up to think only math and not how to type!!

 

Hugs!

[twoxcell]

I don't know of any math curriculum that expects math facts to be memorized by the end of first grade. Second grade, yes (thinking of something I read from the author of MM), but not first.

:iagree: You did not fail. ;)

[Critterfixer]

I probably not the best person to answer this because I don't have children who are very strong in math, but I did find with one of my boys that putting the facts up on the wall really, really helped him get them down. He would be encouraged to first think and use what he already knew to get to what he didn't know, but if he couldn't get it, he could look. They were right there behind him. This eased his mind considerably, and he did much better with that. I strongly suspect that it will be well into fourth grade before he has his multiplication tables down. So the charts will be staying up and we'll keep practicing.

[kristinannie]

I would try the Right Start games over the summer. My kids learned their facts this way.

[CatholicMom]

My kids didn't have facts memorized by the end of 1st grade. I wouldn't worry about it and just move on.

[duckens]

'lil maids in a row says:

I have been doing first grade math with dd7 since last June. We have worked consistently and diligently, but she still doesn't know her math facts.

 

Thank you for posting this.

 

We are in a similar boat. Dd6 is finishing SM2 (~20 lessons we will finish in August). We have a handheld facts tester (Flashmaster). She used to be able to do the highest level perfectly for addition. Today she couldn't do that for the lowest level.

 

I am hesitant to move into SM3 until she is more proficient in her addition AND subtraction. She can do problems. She just doesn't have many of them memorized.

 

I am trying to decide if we should drill all summer on facts (~15m/day), or just drop it until August.

[boscopup]

I wouldn't fret in first grade. It's normal to not have the facts memorized at that point. When I took my oldest through first grade math, he didn't have his facts memorized right away (and first grade math basically was just fact practice). We were using MM at the time, and she says to have the addition/subtraction facts memorized by the end of *second* grade. Sure enough, by the end of the 2nd grade book, my son had his facts memorized.

 

Also, are you using manipulatives? Allow your child to use manipulatives for any facts she doesn't remember on her own. I love C-rods for addition/subtraction. They give my visual kid a picture to put in his brain. He has his facts memorized only because he used C-rods so much. Let your child use manipulatives until she no longer needs them. Eventually, when the facts get into her brain, she'll find it quicker to just remember the fact than to work it out with manipulatives. ;)

[lil' maids in a row]

Thank you all so much for sharing! I feel so much better! What did homeschoolers do before Internet message boards :-).

 

 

[Hunter]

My anxious students prefer chanting and copywork, rather than flashcards. I TEST with flashcards. I TEACH with chanting and copywork and strategies.

 

Increasing the volume of work, sometimes backfires. It makes students pace themselves and they move into a dutiful, but not creative state, that is the first step towards co-dependant interaction.

 

Also students don't do well when tired, thirsty, hungry, getting too little exercise, and directly after another challenging lesson. Sometimes a struggle has NOTHING to do with the lesson ITSELF, but other factors.

[EKS]

We switched to RightStart B somewhere in the middle of Singapore 1B. I found RightStart to be a better fit for my son at that level than Singapore. After doing most of level B, we switched back to Singapore 2A and things went smoothly from then on.

 

But regardless of what program you use, learning math facts takes time and learning to be speedy with them takes even more time.

[Ellie]

Boy have I got the blues. I have been doing first grade math with dd7 since last June. We have worked consistently and diligently, but she still doesn't know her math facts. We completed all of Singapore 1a, we are finishing up the first half of mep (Singapore wasn't a good fit so we started mep mid -year), we have read a couple Fred books. We practice the facts EVERYDAY, I have used flashcards, computer games, file folder games, wrap ups, hot dots, card games, speed drills, worksheets, songs (all on top of the practice in the curriculum) . We have kept it fun and positive, but we haven't made much progress.

 

What do I do? We already spend well over an hour on math (don't worry the kid isn't suffering too much, it includes games and activities, reading Fred etc.) . I don't feel like I can add MORE. Dd also struggles with anxiety, so anything that involves pressure or stress is out (I had to ditch flashcards and speed drills) .

 

Do I need to do something different or just wait for it to click?

 

 

 

Btw -she does a great job with the rest of her math work. She gets the concepts she just can't master the facts.

 

Well, really, I wouldn't expect a 6yo to have memorized all of her math facts in a year. I know that some children can, but it isn't common, and it isn't necessary, either. And that she hasn't memorized all of them yet doesn't mean that she "can't." It only means that she hasn't yet.

 

IMHO, you need to just wait for it to click. :-)

[letsplaymath]

Actually, your daughter may well do BETTER at math in the long run if she does NOT memorize her math facts for another year or two. It's human nature: once we think we "know" something, we no longer ponder or wonder about it. But it is the process of wondering, pondering, considering, and figuring things out that builds a strong foundation for future math.

[lil' maids in a row]

Hunter, if you check back here could you tell me more about the chants you use to help your kids learn their facts?

 

Thank you for the idea of using copywork to practice math facts.

[lil' maids in a row]

Mine doesn't know all of hers either, if it's any consolation, and I don't feel like a failure! :) I am going to continue drilling them though and she'll get them eventually.

 

 

YES!!! It is a consolation. Thank you for sharing.

[lil' maids in a row]

Actually, your daughter may well do BETTER at math in the long run if she does NOT memorize her math facts for another year or two. It's human nature: once we think we "know" something, we no longer ponder or wonder about it. But it is the process of wondering, pondering, considering, and figuring things out that builds a strong foundation for future math.

 

 

I really want her to enjoy math. Thank you for this reminder. If she masters her facts but ends up dreading math THAT would be the real failure.

[jkl]

My rising 2nd grader doesn't know his facts either. Flashcards give him anxiety attacks (seriously--any timed work freaks him out). We are finishing up MEP yr 1, and he can work the problems, but still has to use manipulatives or his fingers to figure them out. I'm trying to decide if I should focus on fact work this summer, or just let it go. Thanks for starting this thread this thread! Some great advice!

[KrissiK]

I do feel like math facts are important, but I'm not going to stress my kids out over them. My extremely non-mathy third grader still uses his fingers and number line. I just figure, when he gets tired of doing all that, he'll learn them. We do flash cards with him and go over the facts, he just struggles.

[Tanikit]

I put my DD on www.sumdog.com and she has got a lot faster with her math facts - they start with largest, smallest numbers and then adding 0 and 1 and subtracting these too and then gradually move to other facts. She did get frustrated when it started introducing 64 - 6 and some basic fractions, but I told it it was just checking what she knew and would not ask her many of those. It can take a short while to set to the correct level for your child. I like that it is free and that my DD enjoys it.

 

Most children do not know all their maths facts at the end of first grade - also which facts are you expecting her to know? I found adding 0 and 1 was very easy to get into her head then doubles (2 + 2 all the way to 9 + 9) - the doubles I taught by putting flashcards on the wall in the bathroom and reading them to her at bath time - then adding 2s and then 3s and then 4s... the facts beyond 10 I have not drilled or even taught beyond the doubles - she does them by making a ten and it is gradually getting faster. My DD does still use a lot of manipulatives - they help especially with word problems as even if she knows how to do the sum it is easier to work out WHAT she is doing by using the manipulatives before writing down the sum.

[Hunter]

Hunter, if you check back here could you tell me more about the chants you use to help your kids learn their facts?

 

Thank you for the idea of using copywork to practice math facts.

 

I just have the student chant whatever charts and tables I'm using for copywork. I find charts and tables that rearrange the facts in as many different ways as possible.

 

I found that when students learn the facts in CONTEXT, they remember them better. Flash cards are teaching the facts in isolation, and not linked up to a similar fact.

 

Professor B curriculum got me into the idea of chanting, but I no longer actually need to use that curriculum, and just use whatever is handy. How to Tutor taught me to use copywork, and I still use HTT, but could just as easily teach without it now, with the charts from What Your _ Grader Needs to Know and other charts I find sprinkled around here and there.

 

Before teaching multiplication, I first have the students skip count. 2,4,6,8,10... and 3,6,9,12,15...

 

Waldorf methods have the student toss bean bags, hop and do all sort of physical activities while chanting facts.

[lil' maids in a row]

Thank you. I will definitely check that out Hunter.

 

 

[bolt.]

My mom was a gifted and excellent math teacher (in the public schools) and she always says that there are dozens of ways to approach math problems, and that there are distinct ways that children instinctively approach math. Those who do well at 'memorizing math facts' are kids who can say, "It's easier to recall this than it it to work it out in every situation." Another strategy (slower at first) is to actually work out the calculation each time you encounter it -- even if you just worked out the same 'fact' 3 minutes ago.

 

It's a little bit like reading by 'sounding things out' vs. reading by 'sight words'. Sight words improve speed (and are important in cases when common words use not-very-basic phonics rules)... but sounding things out is also an important strategy.

 

I suggest you encourage your daughter to *calculate* basic facts, to work them out each time she encounters them -- rather than focusing on how much easier memorization would be when the facts are fairly simple. Some people's minds don't run to memorization, and they tend to get fast at calculation.

 

I think there's a trick to getting the kind of math curriculum that teaches math in the ways that your student's brain is already 'bent' towards understanding math. It's not a matter of 'better' curriculum, it's a subtle issue of 'fit' for each style of thinking.

 

Professor B has excellent strategies that rely on minimal memorization, focusing on how the numbers actually work, which empowers the children to quickly and confidently calculate the answers to 'basic facts'... as many times as they need to. Eventually, I think, memory will kick in as kids naturally clue in, "Haven't I done this 7,500 times before?" -- which is kind of the best of both worlds. (Prof B has a month free trial, which enabled me to 'review' quickly from his beginning lessons, and progress to learn the calculation strategies up to 2nd grade math with my 8 year old, just by doing it daily for a month. I noted what the strategies are before my free month expired. I think I will return to it for a month each year, since I'm only 'afterschooling'.)

[staceyof1982]

I became really frustrated trying to teach my daughter math at that age (after my son who was a natural). What ended up working for us was a combination of JUMP at Home math (REALLY easy confidence builder), Evan-Moore's daily word problems book (with help), Mathematical Reasoning (with help), and addition wrap-ups.

[thebacabunch]

Too young to worry about this. Keep practicing a little each day.

[jennynd]

I don't make my kids memorize add/sub facts. If they can figure it out with fingers/strategies, I am cool. Add/sub will be used so much later on when they do carrying/borrowing, multi/division. They will memorize through the practice. Drill are not needed IMO. I don't ever recall I had to do that when I was little. I cam from Asian country

I do make my kids to multiplication facts. That's the only facts they will need to memorize in my house

[Joyofsixreboot]

I don't think I memorized mine until college. Honestly. That was after all of high school math. If she can get the answer why does it matter how?