Marvelous Math with Mrs. Rose

In a long-awaited report from the National Mathematics Advisory Panel Report (NMAP), released by the U.S. Government in Spring 2008, we find some important–but not too suprising– news.

“Children badly need both automatic recall of math facts and understanding of big concepts, in effect de-clawing both sides in the decades-long math wars,” according to this report.

In other words, there is a place for fluency of math facts (automatic recall) as well as the ability to construct concepts and understand philosophy.  Brain research shows that ability in mathematics should be looked at as less of a talent and more of a result of hard work.  Polls show that the U.S. is one of the few countries where residents believe that children are either born with math talent or not.  This research supports the belief that confidence in math, and thus prowess and talent, can be developed through exposure, practice, and effort.

The contents of this national report were welcomed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).  It is very important to communicate with our students, parents, teachers, and administrations that effort counts and that students who believe that working hard will make them smarter in math actually do achieve better.

Students . . . so let’s practice those Math Facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  There are lots of fun ways to accomplish this besides traditional flash cards.  Try games with manipulatives like dice, dominoes, playing cards, etc.  Read on for more ideas and great websites that offer exciting ways to master Math Facts!

Parents—Help your children develop strong number sense by practicing subitizing skills with everyday materials like dice and dominoes.   Subitizing is the ability to “see” numbers at a glance, without one-to-one counting.  Research shows that students who have strong subitizing skills can more easily manipulate and partition numbers, which aids in computation and calculation of numbers.  Most youngsters can “see” a group of three objects or less quickly.  They will break larger number patterns into smaller groups to find the value.  Playing dominoes and dice games where children see a quantity quickly at a glance further develops subitizing skills, which is the underpinning of developing fluency in basic Math facts.