Math Facts - VERY IMPORTANT!

At a meeting last week with consultants from the Department of Education, information was shared about Parkside's results on the Provincial Math Assessments over the past few years. In analyzing the results, they have noticed a very interesting trend: students who knew their math facts did better overall on the entire assessment each year it was given in both Grades 3 and 6.

THAT IS VERY INTERESTING.

Another interesting piece of information they shared is that students in both Grades 3 and 6 are weak when it comes to solving 2-step problems, such as the following (this is just a simple example):

"Jill bought a package of gum for $1 and a magazine for $3. She paid with a $10 bill. How much change did she get back?"    [Students would be expected to add $1 and $3, then subtract that amount from $10 to get the final answer]

So, though we do not want students or parents to forget about all of the other areas of math, I do want you to know that practicing math facts is important. Please do this with your children. Do some when driving in the car, when getting dinner ready, before bed. Whenever you have a bit of time with your child, ask a few math facts. Post some around the house. Flash cards are great and you can usually find them at Dollarama or other places for a low price. Use the links in the "Websites" tab above. Make it fun. Notice which ones they have the most difficulty with and be sure to review them.

ALL STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW OR BE WORKING TOWARDS KNOWING:

all addition facts to 18 and their related subtraction facts

Here's a link to a site with tips and tricks for addition and subtraction facts to 20 (going to 20 won't hurt them!):

Addition/Subtraction Facts to 20

And don't forget to try making some 2-step problems. 

I'll be adding more websites in the next day or so to the Websites tab above.

Have a great week!