A Note about Math Facts

There are many things we want students to know about multiplication facts: we want them to be able to use a variety of strategies such as repeated addition, chunking numbers or visualizing arrays to understand a particular multiplication problem represents. We want them to understand regular, incremental increases in quantities. We want them to have this type of conceptual knowledge.
The task of memorizing math facts we are currently urging you to do every night does not address that thoughtful work. In fact practice, we are working on rote memorization. We just want multiplication facts to get stuck in students' heads so that when a s/he sees part of a fact family, say, 3 x 4, s/he automatically knows that 12 is the missing number. Also, when a student sees 12 and 3 in the context of multiplication/division they would know that 4 is the missing number. That is why these are called 'Multiplication/Division Fact Families.'
To this end I ask that when you practice flash cards with your child each day, you work on a subset of the whole pile for about five minutes each day. You are working to mastery, but that may take more than a day. Repeat the same facts the next day. If your child has mastered them, add some new ones. Technique: Cover the product. Sticking with the same one I used above (3 x 4 = 12) allow your child to say “3 x 4 = 12.” If s/he doesn’t, you say, “Three times four equals twelve” while showing all three numbers in the fact family. Then the child repeats this. Move on to the next card. Come back to this one in the regular order as you circle through your pile. In this way your child is getting repeated visual, auditorial and kinesthetic (verbalization) practice with each fact.
I hope these tips help. Memorization of these facts give a sense of competence to our young mathematicians that really helps them move forward with more complicated work.