What are math facts? That’s the first question to address. Math facts include addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Math fact fluency is the ability of students to accurately, quickly, and effortlessly recall the basic math facts across all four operations. Learning math facts is critical because it sets the foundation for upper-level math skills.
Math fact fluency allows students to succeed when tackling more complex multiplication problems because they have a solid understanding. That’s why educators take teaching multiplication seriously. From math games to edtech resources like ExploreLearning Reflex, there are many effective and fun ways to teach multiplication fact fluency.
Understanding multiplication fact fluency
Conceptual understanding, math fact fluency, and automaticity are critical targets in the early grades. When students are math fact fluent in all four basic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), they are more likely to succeed in higher-level math, from fractions to career coursework. ExploreLearning Reflex builds critical math fact fluency through a game-based fact family approach, ensuring students have the conceptual understanding needed to progress in math.
What is multiplication fact fluency?
Multiplication fact fluency is an accurate and effortless recall of basic multiplication facts, such as 2 x 8 = 16 or 9 x 1 = 9. When students achieve automaticity (or become math fact fluent) with those facts, they can retrieve them from long-term memory without conscious effort or attention. Think of automaticity as the highest level of math fact fluency for all operations, including multiplication facts. And remember, math fact fluency doesn’t just mean retrieval speed, it comes with enhanced math confidence, a deepened understanding, and an ability to learn new concepts.
Why are multiplication facts important?
Multiplication fluency is key to developing number sense as well as achieving success in higher levels of math. Understanding the relationships between numbers brings with it a practical sense of math concepts. Once a student reaches multiplication fact fluency, they free up their working memory, allowing them to problem-solve and think deeper, rather than focusing on simple calculations.
Common challenges in learning multiplication facts
Multiplication math facts can be tricky for students. Many obstacles can hinder progress with multiplication fact fluency. Some students have learning difficulties that require different instructional strategies. Others may need help to achieve math fact fluency and rely on strategies that make solving problems difficult and time-consuming.
When students start to fall behind, they know it. Some students feel a real sense of math anxiety when dealing with subjects that don’t come easy to them. Understanding what your students are feeling, and providing a positive, supportive learning math environment, makes a big difference in overcoming challenges. With Reflex, students naturally build their confidence in math as they earn rewards and unlock games through effort.
Benefits of mastering multiplication facts
Math fact fluency is foundational to learning math and significantly predicts student math performance. Young math students often struggle with math facts, which are also strong indicators of future success in math. Along with understanding fractions, they uniquely predict students’ standardized test scores and participation in college-prep math and career coursework.
It’s not just about the big picture of testing and preparing for college, though. Fact fluency enables students to solve more complex problems with multiplication efficiently because the struggle is gone. They can focus on the problem rather than getting bogged down in the multiplication facts needed to solve it.
Supporting multiplication fact fluency success for elementary students
What prior knowledge is needed for multiplication? Addition and subtraction facts come first. Before students get started with multiplication facts, they need to understand how numbers relate to each other. Across all grade levels, students benefit from a fact family approach, which helps students see multiplication and division as related operations.
The commutative property, or the idea that 2 x 4 and 4 x 2 will always yield the same result, is equally important. Understanding the commutative property can help students become fluent faster and build confidence. Both of these key concepts are critical to success with multiplication facts. Explorelearning Reflex uses both a fact family and the commutative property to support enhanced math fact fluency skills.
Build foundational skills in grades 2 and 3
Learning fundamental skills and math facts in second grade sets the stage for future success. Make sure to have robust discussions about numbers and provide manipulatives to help students develop number sense and understanding of flexibility with numbers. The idea is to make them comfortable with numbers as they progress through more complex skills.
In third grade, math can seem more difficult to some students. A solid foundation is critical as the numbers grow and concepts become more complex. Representation and problem-solving with multiplication and division take center stage as students begin to interpret the products of whole numbers. Understanding of the commutative property and a math fact family approach are crucial in grades 2 and 3 to build the foundations needed to succeed with math facts.
Maintain math fact fluency skills in grade 4
How about fourth grade? Did your students maintain their multiplication fact fluency from third grade? It should be a primary focus if those aren’t solid math facts for fourth graders yet. If students are struggling with concepts, perform math remediation or intervention as needed. Fourth grade is a critical time to ensure students are well-prepared for advanced math.
Supporting new concepts in grades 5 and 6
What about multiplication facts for grades 5 and 6? Numerical expressions, patterns, and relationships increase in difficulty for fifth graders. These problems may require several steps, making multiplication fact fluency and automaticity crucial to accuracy and efficiency when solving them.
Sixth graders will write and evaluate algebraic expressions and locate and plot points on a coordinate graph using ordered pairs. Students in grade 6 are expected to multiply 2-digit by 2-digit numbers and 3-digit by 3-digit numbers, and determine the greatest common factor and least common multiple. The need for multiplication fact fluency grows with each grade level.
9 strategies for teaching multiplication facts to students
Learning multiplication doesn’t have to be drill and practice. Discourage memorization as the only way to learn multiplication facts. Some students can do this more easily than others.
How do you teach multiplication creatively? Multiplication facts practice can include fluency games and strategies that are fun. Take a look at a few ways to build multiplication skills.
- Bring on the manipulatives for hands-on learning of multiplication fact fluency practice.
- Try skip-counting. You can even do this while waiting in line or during transition times.
- Use a fact family approach, and help students understand how addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication relate to each other.
- Look for the patterns. Have students use different colors and make it an art project, too.
- Show the commutative property (for example, 2 x 4 or 4 x 2 will be the same 8). Let students work with partners to make a list with each group in a different color.
- Combine multiplication facts and writing by asking students to write stories, poems, or raps about what happens when numbers are multiplied by zero and one. Make sure to let them share with the class.
- Use adaptive, game-based technology like Reflex. Reflex builds math fact fluency skills using research-proven methods.
- Pass out some colored paper and have students show arrays and fact families to post on a bulletin board.
- Let students become designers of multiplication facts games. They will write the rules and create game boards. Don’t forget to build in time for them to play the games!
How Reflex builds multiplication fact fluency
Reflex helps students master multiplication facts and achieve automaticity while building confidence in math. Reflex uses a fact family approach that builds on and reinforces critical mathematical concepts such as the commutative property and the relationship between properties, which are key to multiplication fact fluency. Instead of focusing on rote memorization, Reflex helps students develop conceptual understanding and number sense. With individualized coaching, practice, and assessments delivered in a fun, game-based approach, students quickly master their multiplication facts.
Experience real results in the classroom
Recent research shows that 2nd-grade students using Reflex showed significant growth in math fact fluency, with average fluency increasing from 28% to 84% over the school year. Reflex users were also twice as likely to meet ambitious growth goals, and 2.6x more likely to achieve grade-level proficiency by the end of the year. Another study shows that at-risk students in grades 2-5 who used Reflex achieved 2x larger gains on standardized math assessments.
“Students love Reflex! They ask to do it every day. You can really tell that they learned their multiplication facts while working on equivalent fractions. Thank you for the great program!”
Reflex teacher, Greene County School District, TN
Reflex delivers measurable results for multiplication fact fluency that can significantly impact success with mathematical procedures and concepts at any grade level. Isn’t it time to try Reflex with your students?
