This week I have begun teaching our newly adopted math curriculum, California Math. Right from the start, I could tell many of my students were struggling with basic multiplication facts. I myself struggled to think of ways I could help build fluency, while maintaining a Common Core mindset of inquiry, and teach how to find the Greatest Common Factor and Least Common Multiple of two or more whole numbers.
I have spent countless hours thinking and have come to the conclusion that time is the main factor. My roommate, a third grade teacher in Santa Maria, gave me advice to extend my math block. I tried this out yesterday and today with positive results. I now spend the first half hour in the morning on drilling multiplication facts and re-teaching simplifying fractions (next week will be long division). After we get back from a 15 minute movement session ("brain break") we dive into the curriculum. Yesterday I taught LCM (Least Common Multiple) to the entire class. After four examples with discussion on multiple ways of finding the LCM and discussing vocabulary (what a multiple is), I dismissed a majority of the students to complete the independent assignment. Those who were struggling (a 1 or 2 in our "Fist to Five" comprehension check...more on this later) stayed with me on the rug for more examples at a slower pace. This worked so well and I felt like a "good teacher" afterward...much better than I did on Tuesday after attempting Math Centers without success. I'll try centers again next week, with some slight adjustments. For now, I'm going to try to get some rest and fight the cold I've caught. Good night!
P.S. Here are some fun & free resources for multiplication drills:
www.multiplication.com
www.freerice.com
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