QUICK SHOPPING
Building Math Fluency
This series concentrates on strategies for learning/memorizing basic math facts according to grade. It helps children learn to perform computations quickly and accurately to improve their performance in regular math work and on tests. It's as though a determined math coach put everything he had into a book: strategies, practice, flash cards, drill sheets. The 1st and 2nd grade books focus on addition and subtraction strategies; grades 3 and 4-6+ concentrate on multiplication and division. The largest section of each book teaches how to master basic facts (66 practice pages in the grade 1 book). These present strategies and supply practice for them. This is followed by a Test Your Skills section containing 29 test sheets corresponding to the various stages in the strategies section. Since the entire book is reproducible, you can make multiple copies of these for assessment before, during, and after each strategy practice. A complete set of fact "flashcards" follow (237 cards in the grade 1 book). I would laminate these since they are just paper. If this isn't an option for you, you might use trading card sleeves or cover with clear contact paper. Each book also provides 5 transparencies. Normally, overheads included are not usable in a homeschool, but those provided here (I have a grade 1 sample) are. They include a hundred-number grid (with an additional line that goes to 110) and various number lines. The white paper backing makes them dandy write on/wipe-off manipulatives, adding to the value of this volume.
