Dr. Phyllis Fischer’s

Arithmetic Speed Drills

A key to comfort and competence in elementary mathematics is fluency with the basic facts of arithmetic. In particular, the single-digit number facts must become automatic, requiring little more conscious effort than recalling one’s own name.

To promote fluent skills in:

ADDITION SUBTRACTION MULTIPLICATION DIVISION

The carefully constructed exercises in this package help students become automatic and fluent with the basic facts of the four fundamental operations of arithmetic.

Includes 6 pages of detailed instructions and teaching tips, and a chart template for tracking student progress.
Thoroughly student-tested for effectiveness both in classroom and in tutorial settings.
An excellent supplement for any elementary math program.

Speed Drills for Arithmetic Facts

by Phyllis E. Fischer, Ph.D.

54 pages

8½"×11"

Manipulating numbers automatically in a variety of settings depends on several distinct skills. These speed drills help students to develop those skills, to become automatic at the basic arithmetic facts of the single-digit numbers. This is done by timing the students for one minute while they write the answers to carefully chosen sets of questions.

The design of these drills is based on observations of students who became proficient at adding and subtracting when they saw how the three numbers in an addition/subtraction statement were related to each other — for instance, when they saw that 2, 3, and 5 are related by 2 + 3 = 5 and 5 – 2 = 3 and 5 – 3 = 2. The same thing was true for multiplying and dividing. Proficiency came once they saw the relationships between statements such as 5 × 2 = 10 and 10 ÷ 5 = 2.

These drills assume that students are fluent with the language of our base-ten numeration system and with solving a variety of problems using the four basic operations. Materials for developing fluency with those skills appear in Nimble Numeracy: Fluency in Counting and Basic Arithmetic, also by Dr. Phyllis Fischer.