Why Teach Children to Memorize Number Facts

The rise of the use of calculators has created a situation in which many teachers do not push children to memorize the basic facts for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The reality is that learning these facts at a level of instantaneous recall is very valuable in dealing with math learning at higher levels. The web shown below gives valuable insight into why we should be teaching memorization of the number facts.

We also have posted practice sheets for all four sets of facts. To use these, you begin with a time in which children are expected to complete with 100% accuracy. Decrease the amount of time allowed until students can complete one sheet in 3 minutes or less.

There have been some teachers who have questioned the use of the same sheet over and over again for a particular operation. The expressed fear is that the children might memorize the answers. Our response, “And?”

Number Facts | Teaching Resources | Twinkl - Twinkl

Here is a link to a set of the basic number facts:

Elementary Number Facts