Teaching Trove

The counting on addition strategy is a great mental math strategy used to build number fact fluency.  To put it simply, counting on involves adding 1, 2 or 3 to a number. 5 + 3, 6 + 2, 8 + 1 are all count on facts. So are 3 + 8, 2 + 14 and 1 + 7. What we want… Read More

Using math games in centers is a great way to consolidate your student’s learning but how well do your kids play math games together? Is it a chance for them to practice or revise concepts in a fun and motivating way? Or do they focus on just getting to the end of the game and winning? Do they spend time… Read More

Have you ever handed out a math worksheet and watched your student’s eye glaze over? “Why do we have to do this!” “We did this last week!” “I know how to do this already!” And yes, unless you’re just beginning to teach your class how to regroup with subtraction, they probably do know what to do – most of the… Read More

When a child can answer 7 + 8 quickly and correctly we know they’re developing strategies for number fact retrieval. And when you’ve spent the last two weeks teaching them the mental math strategy – doubles plus one, this quick response is what you want to hear. But is it fluency? What is fact fluency? Fact fluency is more than… Read More

I love it when I know kids are using addition strategies to answer their number facts quickly and accurately. You know how it is, at the beginning of the year they’re using a ruler, their fingers or blocks to add 4 + 5 and now you ask them and they answer …within three seconds … no fingers! They can mentally… Read More