How to use Rocket Math Archives

Student not progressing in Rocket Math Online Tutor? How to diagnose the problem. Part One

Posted on January 11, 2024 by Dr. Don

Progress in Rocket Math Online Tutor means passing levels in a Learning Track and then completing a Learning Track. Students who are not progressing in Rocket Math will get discouraged. The point of this educational app is for students to learn math facts by memory, by instant recall, instead of having to figure them out. If students are not progressing, something is wrong. Here’s the things to look for in order of how likely they are to be the problem.

Problem 1: Not completing sessions

Students can start a session and work for only a couple of seconds and then quit. If students are not completing sessions then they are not doing enough practice. They will not make progress unless they complete sessions regularly.

If you open the Review Progress tab and scroll down to the listing of your students you will see a column titled Sessions in last 2 weeks. For each student, for the last two weeks, you can see how many sessions they completed each day as well as how many they started. The data showing here tells you the student is starting sessions, but not completing them. They are only ten minutes long, so they can do it if you tell them they should.

Solution 1: Require students to show Session Completed screen.

Rocket Math has a screen that proves students have completed their session each time they do Rocket Math. It comes up at the end of the ten minute session. This screen will stay up if they do not log out. This is designed so you can require your students to show you they completed their session. Because is will stay there, you can check them out (maybe use a clipboard?) and know they have completed their session. Completing sessions is the first step in learning math facts and making progress.

Problem 2: Not working during sessions

Most students seem to understand that going as fast as they can with Rocket Math is the road to learning their math facts. Most students like going fast and when Rocket Math helps them learn these facts they are motivated to develop mastery. They realize it will make their lives easier when they have to do any arithmetic for any reason.

However, some students focus their efforts on trying to avoid learning and working. These student may log into Rocket Math but then go on to do something other than work on learning their facts. These students will not spend much time practicing even when they are logged in. They won’t of course, make much progress and that will be discouraging for both them and the teacher.

On the Review Progress screen, you can see each day how many problems students have answered in their ten-minute session. Student should be able to easily complete over 100 problems in a full ten-minute session, if they are working steadily. Students who complete less than half that many problems are spending a lot of time doing something other than practicing math facts.

Solution 2A: Circulate and watch students while they are using the Online Tutor

If possible, monitor students closely while they are doing the Rocket Math Online Tutor. Walk around, look over their shoulder and see them answer a couple of problems. Pat them on the back, literally or figuratively, and move on. Praise people who are working hard, and do it aloud so other can here you. Comment on anything you see, so they know you are watching and know you care how they are doing. Keep moving around the room so you can see everyone. Keep circulating so that they know you will be coming by frequently. If you do that you won’t have anyone off task. If you did this for a month or two, you would build in good work habits and then you wouldn’t need to do it all the time. If you never do this, you have no idea what is going on in the back corners of your room!

Solution 2B: Post names of those answering the most problems

If you are teaching something else while students are working, you won’t be able to monitor them while they are working. However, at the end of the day you can go to the Review Progress page. Scroll down to the individual student rows and scroll over to the Problems Answered Today column. At the top you can barely see a little gray arrow and a stack of tiles. Click it once and it sorts from the lowest up to the highest. Click it again and sort it from the highest down as you can see in this example here. Then you can post the names of the students who answered the most problems.

Just before students begin working on Rocket Math the next day stand up and read aloud the names and praise those students who are really working hard. “I know these students are working hard because of how many problems they were able to answer yesterday. They are going to get really smart and know their facts. Can you do better? I’ll see tonight who can do more than 100 problems! Maybe your name will go on the board tomorrow!”

And of course, you should have a talk with anyone who is doing very little. They could always do an extra session of Rocket Math during recess or after school if they can’t get more done during the regular time.

Still not progressing? See Part 2

If your student is working hard and completing 5 to 10 sessions a week, they will most likely be making good progress and passing several levels each week. If they are working hard and still not making progress go on to Part 2 of this blog.

Student not progressing in Rocket Math Online Tutor? How to diagnose the problem. Part Two

Posted on January 11, 2024January 11, 2024 by Dr. Don

If you have not, please read and implement Part One of this blog post. You have seen that your student is completing 5 to 10 sessions a week and is working hard the whole time (answering a hundred or more problems each session). But still the student isn’t making good progress passing several levels a week? Let’s look deeper into the problems.

Find out if it is too difficult for this student

When students make three errors or three hesitations in a part or a phase of Rocket Math, we have them start over and repeat those problems. In the Review Progress tab, in the individual student rows is a column titled “Difficulty.” The Online Tutor calculates the difficulty score by dividing the number of times the student had to “start over” or repeat a part by the number of parts passed. We expect that students will usually have to start over once or twice in a part, earning them a difficulty score of “1 or 2” However, if they have to start over an average of 3 times per part, (a difficulty score over 3.0) then it may be too difficult for this student.

In the Review Progress tab, you can look up the difficulty score for any student. Or as was done in the picture here, you can sort the difficulty column to see the students with the highest difficulty scores at the top. Then you should watch the students who are having high difficulty scores while they are working to see what the problem is.

Problem 3: Problems using the keyboard quickly

Some students, especially those under 8 years old, are not as adept at using a computer keyboard as they need to be for the Online Tutor. At the standard speed, answers must be entered within 3 seconds for a one-digit answer with only an additional second for subsequent digits. Some students cannot use two hands so they can quickly hit the answer and the enter key. Searching for and tapping separately with one hand both the numerical keys and the enter key will be too slow–they will have a lot of start-overs. If you watch such a student work, you will see that they know the right answer, but cannot get it input on the keyboard in time. This will frustrate them and slow down progress.

Solution 3A: Have the student use a touch screen

Using a touch screen is much easier than a computer keyboard. For children under 8 years old, or students who are having difficulty entering the answers they know getting them a touch screen device should solve the problem. To test if this will solve the problem, put the free Rocket Math app on your phone, log in for the student and let them do a session on your phone. If they do better (have fewer start-overs) then you know how to solve the problem. Touch screens are becoming more common, so we’re hoping you can locate one for the student who is having trouble.

Solution 3B: Slow the Online Tutor answering speed

If a touch screen option doesn’t help–the student is still frustrated then you can adjust the speed required by the Online Tutor. This will help an individual student who is having trouble keyboarding the answer quickly enough. Here are the directions (and caveats) about changing the speed of answering. https://www.rocketmath.com/online-tutor-knowledge-base/b-too-hard-or-too-fast-check-the-difficulty-score/

Problem 4: Student is not ready for the Learning Track

Students who are not ready for the Learning Tracks will have a lot of difficulty progressing through the Online Tutor. Students won’t succeed who have not learned the basic prerequisites, such as understanding the operation they are trying to memorize. For example kindergarten students who don’t know how to add two groups of objects (by counting) aren’t ready for LT 1-Addition. Before students understand addition and subtraction they should not be memorizing the facts. Generally we want first and second graders in Learning Track 1-Addition followed by LT 2-Subtraction. The same thing goes for multiplication. Students need to understand what multiplication means and be able to “figure it out” before being asked to do LT 7-Multiplication. After this concept is learned in third or fourth grade is a good time to begin LT 7-Multiplication followed by LT 8-Division.

Solution 4: Stop Online Tutor and teach more basic math skills first

Students younger than these guidelines or who are cognitively delayed below these mental ages may not be successful with the Online Tutor learning tracks. If they aren’t successful, you’ll need for them to develop more basic math skills before using the Online Tutor.

Things-to-look-for (any time of day) for Rocket Math implementation

Posted on March 5, 2023March 5, 2023 by Dr. Don

Evaluating a Rocket Math implementation when you aren’t observing Rocket Math in action.

Most of the time when you go into classrooms, something other than Rocket Math® will be going on. These are the things you can check on even when there are no students in the room. There are eight indicators you can see by looking at student folders. There are four indicators while looking at the Rocket Math filing crate. There are additional indicators to look for if there is a Wall Chart being used or if there are Race for the Stars games in the room. Here’s a link to the checklist.

Look at several Student Folders

(1). Students all have folders that appear to be used daily. The folders are the heart of the organizational system. Students should keep their materials in the folders and keep track of their progress on the folders. Whether the students keep folders in their desks, cubbies, or are collected each day, there should be some signs of wear and tear.

(2). Rocket Charts on student folders show dates of each attempt to pass a level. Each day when students take a 1-minute timing test to try to pass a set of facts, they should write the date of the “try” on the Rocket Chart on the front of their folder. Without this record you cannot tell if a student is stuck because he or she has missed two weeks of school, or if students are only doing Rocket Math® twice a week (not recommended!), or if a student has exceeded six tries without intervention.

(3). Rocket Charts on student folders are colored in when passed. Coloring in the row on the Rocket Chart for the fact set that was just passed is the primary reinforcer of all that hard work. It is essential that students are given the time (and the colored pens, pencils, or crayons) to celebrate their success. Don’t get fooled by the older students or the students who are “too cool” to color in the chart. Even if they only want to color in the row with their regular pencil, students need to be told that they have accomplished something important, and giving them the time to color in their chart is a critical component of the program. This is way more important than you might think. You can also praise students who have accomplished a lot or who have just passed a level. Hearing from an administrator or coach about progress in math facts sends a huge message regarding the importance of the task.

(4). Student folders include packets of answer keys on colored paper. In order to practice correctly, each student’s partner needs to have an answer key in front of them when practicing. Each student needs their own answer key packet (so they can practice with someone who doesn’t have that answer key or with a volunteer who has no answer key). All the answer sheets for their operation should be copied and stapled into a booklet so students don’t have to go hunting for answer keys. Having the answer keys copied onto a distinctive color is important for teachers to be able to monitor paired practice. When students are practicing, each pair should have one student with answers (in that distinctive color) and the partner without the answers (on white paper). Any variation of this means the students are not practicing correctly—and that should be easy for the teacher to spot. Additionally, if a teacher is ready to begin testing and sees a hot pink paper on a desk, the teacher knows someone has answers in front of him or her.

(5) Student folders have the next sheet ready before starting practice time. Some system needs to be put in place so that the limited amount of time available for students to practice is NOT taken up with all students trooping up to the crate to get the next practice sheet each day. The recommended system in the Teacher Directions is to refill student folders when they pass a level, after school, with a packet of six sheets. That way the only time teachers have to handle folders is when students pass and they check the “pass” for errors and refill with a new packet. Many other ways of refilling student folders are possible, but no matter the process, students should have a blank practice sheet or set of practice sheets in their folder—which you would see when you check folders.

(6). Students have clear goals indicated on goal sheet. After students complete the Writing Speed Test, they are to have goals set for their daily 1-minute timing. The goal sheet should be stapled to the inside left of the student folder, the goal line circled, and the 1-minute goal written at the bottom of the sheet. The goal may be crossed out and a higher goal written in if the student has consistently demonstrated the ability to write faster than the original goal. Sometimes, teachers also write the goal on the front on the Rocket Chart, but the student’s goal should be clearly indicated. If not, it may be arbitrary or inappropriate (the same for all students, for example).

(7). Individual graphs are filled in because 2-minute timings are happening. Every week or two, students should be taking the 2-minute timings. These timings are a progress monitoring measure. They could be used for RTI or for IEP goals, or for any other time when a curriculum-based measurement is useful. At least they can demonstrate to us (and to the students) whether they are making progress in learning math facts in a given operation. As students learn more and more facts in the operation to a level of fluency and automaticity, they will be able to write answers to more facts in the operation on the 2-minute timing. Each time they take a 2-minute test, they should count the number correct and graph that on the graph stapled on the inside right of their folder. Each test is graphed in the correct column for whichever week of the month the test was taken.

(8). Individual graphs show upward trends as students are learning facts. Once students are taking the 2-minute timings regularly, it should be easy to see a trend. It should be going up, even if somewhat unevenly. For example, scores might go down after the long December break, but they should recover after a couple of weeks. If these graphs do NOT show an upward trend, something is wrong. Practice may not be being done for long enough (less than 2 minutes a day), or frequently enough (only three times a week), or students may not be practicing correctly (not fixing hesitations and errors). If only one or two students have flat graphs, those students will need something more. The individual graphs will be your indication that there is something amiss. You will just have to figure out what could be wrong. This should lead you to do some observations during Rocket Math^® practice in that classroom.

Look at the Rocket Math file crate

(1). There is a crate or set of files for each operation practiced in the room. Each operation fills a crate and requires a different set of files. In any classroom where not all students are working on the same operation, there will need to be more than one set of files. Sometimes, teachers who have only one or two students in an operation may use the files of a neighbor teacher, but that should be only a temporary fix. The rule is that there must be a crate for every operation being practiced in that class.

(2). Rocket Math^® crate is filled and organized from A–Z, complete with tabs. As of the 2013 version of Rocket Math^®, every operation goes up to the letter Z. So each crate should have hanging folders with tabs showing the letters A though Z. Tabs are important to save time finding sheets and filling folders. If the files are a mess, out of order, no labels, or some letters are empty, valuable practice time will be used up trying to find the right sheets. If everything is labeled, and there are sheets in each file, then efficiency is a possibility. The Rocket Math store has tabs for sale if you need them.

(3). Rocket Math^® crate has 2-minute timings numbered 1–5. In order to make sure that teachers do the 2-minute timing and monitor progress readily, they need to have class sets of the 2-minute timings (1 through 5) available in the crate. This is easy for you to check. If they are not there, it is likely that the 2-minute timings won’t be done as regularly as they should be. It is important for those timings to be done so you can see if all the students are making good progress.

(4). Teacher has a hard copy of the directions available for reference. The best place to keep the directions is right in the crate, so they are handy at any time. We have found that most of the time, when teachers are not doing things as they should in their Rocket Math^®implementations, they don’t have a copy of the directions. When teachers don’t have the directions handy, they will ask a colleague how to do things. Unfortunately, this is like a game of telephone and typically doesn’t end well. Being sure that every teacher has the directions available for easy reference goes a long way toward proper implementation. It also allows you to pick up the directions when you are in the room and point something out to the teacher or to reference an appropriate page number in the directions in your notes to the teacher.

You can print the Teacher Directions from the virtual filing cabinet, in the Forms and Information drawer, under Rocket Math Teacher Directions. You can buy printed copies from RocketMath.com/shop. There are additional things to look for on the form but they are optional and go with supplemental parts of the curriculum.

Seven steps to an exemplary Rocket Math Worksheet implementation

Posted on February 4, 2023January 26, 2024 by Dr. Don

You know already what should be happening.

This article assumes you have read the Rocket Math Teacher Directions yourself, so you know how things should run. You can also read the Administrator and Coach Handbook for more ideas on how things should be running. These helpful manuals can be purchased at their link, or available for free in the virtual Rocket Math Worksheet filing cabinet–in the Forms and Information Drawer. You’ll also need to have done observations using our observation form and checklist. You should already know what things need to change–this is about how to make that happen.

How to make change happen.

These are recommendations as to how to get an implementation of Rocket Math® running smoothly, correctly, and effectively—without unduly annoying your teachers. How can you get every teacher in your building to abide by all the critical features of Rocket Math®? If teachers feel criticized, they will begin to resent the program and you. On the other hand, teachers (especially good teachers) are highly self-critical and, if they understand what should be happening, will enthusiastically self-correct a lot of details without you having to point out their errors. So here are seven steps to getting more of the enthusiasm and less of the resentment.

1. Choose one procedure to change at a time.

There may be several things not being implemented the way you would like (or as is outlined in the Teacher Directions). The temptation is to assign everyone to read the Teacher Directions and then follow them. Ask them to read the directions, yes, but they will need help to actually improve. To begin, just pick one concrete procedure that you want everyone to be sure to do the right way. Pick the most important one—as best as you can. Start with the top four of the observation form (shown here).

2. Talk about it first.

Always talk about needed details or techniques in a staff meeting before “noticing” the problem in any particular teacher’s room. If you see a problem in one or more classrooms, don’t ask those teachers to change as your first response. Instead, talk about what should be happening, in a staff meeting, without saying anything about those who weren’t doing it right. Describe clearly what you want teachers to do. Consider writing it down and passing it out as you talk about it. You may even need to have teachers practice it in a role-play scenario in small groups. This can be done for just a few minutes.

3. Give the rationale.

Whenever you talk about a feature or a technique you want teachers to do, explain WHY it is important. Explain it in terms of student learning. (The rationale is in the Administrator & Coach manual and in the Teacher Directions also.) Teachers want their students to succeed, so if you explain why it is important for the kids, the teachers will see the reason for doing it the right way. Have some discussion with the staff to make sure everyone knows both what you want and why it is important to learning.

Note: If you have a staff that doesn’t readily discuss, give them the questions you would ask, break them into groups to come up with an answer for each question, and have the groups report out.

4. Give a “heads up” that you’ll be observing.

At the end of talking in the staff meeting about the change you want to see, let everyone know that you will be visiting classrooms during Rocket Math® to see how things are going. If the change that you are looking for requires preparation, give a week’s notice. If it is just a way of doing things that can be changed immediately, start observing in the next day or two.

5. Follow through with praise first.

After observations where you see people doing what you wanted to see, be sure to tell them personally how impressed you are with their ability to implement a new idea so quickly or so well or with such enthusiasm. At the next staff meeting, after the end of the first observations, praise the people who are doing things well. If more than ¾ of your staff is doing it correctly, you can move on to observing for something new. If less than ¾ of your staff is doing the one specific thing correctly, then revisit the change and let your staff know that you will be visiting again within the next few days. Be sure to follow through with your visits.

6. Follow through with individual help.

Once you are down to a small number of staff members who are NOT implementing the change you want to see, it is time to offer more help to each of them. Once you see for the second or third time that a teacher is not implementing what is expected, tell them what you saw instead, and ask what you can do to help.

Be genuine. More often than not, teachers do not implement correctly because they don’t exactly know how, but were afraid to ask. Ferreting out what the stumbling block is, finding out what’s getting in the way of a good implementation, is the best use of your time. Sometimes, just role-playing what to say or do is needed. Sometimes resources are missing or haven’t been requested. Sometimes a method of organizing better is the key. Often, another teacher will have the key as to how to implement something—so don’t hesitate to use peers to support one another.

You should know that Rocket Math® done correctly will work. If you can get a teacher to do this well, they will be reinforced by the results. Students will end up being more successful, and that is very rewarding to any teacher who really cares. Staying with a teacher until the details are right will end up being worth the time—for you, for the teacher, and, most importantly, for the students.

7. Celebrate 100% implementation.

Keep track of the new things you’ve asked to be changed. Keep track of how many teachers are implementing. Keep praising those who are coming on board. Finally, celebrate when everyone “gets it.” Find a memorable way to celebrate the victory. Some people even create a “bragging list” of all the new procedures that were implemented to mastery by all the teachers in the school.

Trophy for completing all 16 Learning Tracks

Posted on November 7, 2022December 19, 2023 by Dr. Don

Dr. Don will send this trophy and a personalized certificate to any student who completes ALL 16 LEARNING TRACKS. The first student in the world to earn this certificate and trophy for completing all 16 learning tracks in the Rocket Math Online Game was Addison H. of Whitehall, Wisconsin.

Export their completed Learning Track Summary.

To see if any of your students qualify, export the Learning Track Summary. A student who has completed all 16 Learning tracks will show their username listed with all 16 Learning Tracks completed all the way to Z.

A qualifying record would look like this, showing all 16 learning tracks and all with a fully completed level of Z.

Please note, this includes the Addition and Subtraction Learning Tracks 1 through 6, so you may have older students who will have to go back and finish those learning tracks. Encourage them to do so–it’s good practice for them and will help them doing computation later in life.

First time through only.

The offer of the trophy and certificate applies only to the first time through the Learning Tracks. After becoming fluent, students can zip through the Learning Tracks much more easily than when they are first learning the facts. The second time through students should often earn Fluency promotion allowing them to skip through a Learning Track in a few minutes.

Contact us to get the trophy and certificate.

Teachers, please send an email from your school account address to Angela@rocketmath.com. Include your name or the name of the teacher who has worked with the student along with the student’s username and their actual first and last name, their grade level, and of course, the school mailing address so we can mail it to you.

Use this link to email it to Angela@rocketmath.com. When she confirms the data in your export Learning Track Summary, she will mail the certificate and trophy to you.

BONUS CHALLENGE–CAN YOU DO ROCKET MATH on the FAST SETTING?

Dr. Don’s 20-point Online Game Checklist

Posted on July 16, 2022June 19, 2023 by Dr. Don

Checklists have been found to improve accuracy and efficiency in everything from building houses to open-heart surgery. Although implementing the Rocket Math Online Game is not anywhere near as difficult, this checklist of the things a teacher needs to do to get the program up and running may prove helpful.

Most of the items are linked to the directions for how to accomplish them and why they need doing. This document (without all the pictures) is also on Google Drive.

Dr. Don’s 20-point Online Game checklist

For Effective Rocket Math Online Game Implementation

Links in this document take you to directions on how to accomplish it and why it is worthwhile to do so.

SET UP AHEAD OF TIME FROM YOUR DASHBOARD

____ Schedule Rocket Math sessions at least once a day, preferably twice.
____ Start students in correct Learning Track. 1-3 Addition * 4th & up Multiplication.
____ Sessions are limited to 10 minutes with a 20 minute break required before playing again.
____ Enable Daily Progress Reports: know who’s completed sessions and who’s passed levels.
____ Print out Color in Rocket Charts and give it to all students.
____ Enable Learning Track Alerts—so you can award them as soon as students finish.
____ Print out Parent Letter—so you can assign this as homework.
____ Enable Fluency Promotion and Auto-Advance for all students.
____ Assign Fluency Testing (1-min Races). Do it the same day each week.
____ Post Toughness Certificate to use with those who need help with perseverance.

BEFORE EACH DAILY SESSION

____ Group recognition (stand up and take a bow) for students who have done Rocket Math as homework (more sessions completed than done in class the day before).
____ Group recognition (stand up and take a bow) for students who’ve improved on 1-minute race.
____ Award Star Effort Awards for any who’ve achieved that level of effort.
____ Award Learning Track Certificates for any who completed one.
____ Give students time to color in their Rocket Charts for parts passed yesterday (see 3).
____ Give star stickers for the Wall Chart (if you have it) to students who have passed a level.

DURING EACH DAILY SESSION

____ View and praise Star Effort screen for several students—note who might earn a certificate.
____ Walk around and monitor–look at screens and praise students who are working.
____ Require students to show you their “Session Completed” screen before logging off.
____Check the difficulty score of students who complain. If their difficulty score is over 3.0, observe and diagnose their problem or adjust speed. If it’s under 3.0 use Toughness Certificate.

________________________

* After 3rd graders have learned the concept of multiplication, they should be moved ahead into LT. 7 Multiplication

Dr. Don’s Worksheet Program Checklist

Posted on July 16, 2022December 7, 2022 by Dr. Don

Checklists have been found to improve accuracy and efficiency in everything from flying airplanes to brain surgery. Although implementing the Rocket Math Worksheet program is not anywhere near as difficult, this checklist of the things a teacher needs to do to get the program up and running may prove helpful.

Most of the items are linked to the directions for how to accomplish them and why they need doing. This document (without the pictures) is also on Google Drive.

Dr. Don’s Worksheet Program checklist

SET UP AHEAD OF TIME

____ Schedule 10-to-15-minute Rocket Math sessions at least once a day.
____ Choose a Learning Track for your class. (How to choose a Learning Track advice)
____ Set up the Math Facts crate for your chosen Learning Track and fill with worksheets.
____ Print out Four forms for each student and A-to-Z Answer booklets for the Learning Track.
____ Create folders for each student—fill with the four forms you printed in Step 4.
____ Set up students in partner pairs, with at least one hard-working student in each pair.

TEACH STUDENTS HOW TO PRACTICE AND CORRECT

____ Come to understand the practice and correction procedure for yourself.
____ Make all your students model the correction procedure as you role play making errors.

GIVE THE WRITING SPEED TEST TO SET INDIVIDUAL GOALS

____ Give the Writing Speed Test (should be in their folders) and collect student folders.
____ Use the results to set individual goals on the Goal Sheet.

BEFORE EACH DAILY LESSON

____ Hand out student folders and recognize students who passed a level yesterday.
____ Give students time to color in their Rocket Charts for parts passed yesterday.
____ Give star stickers for the Wall Chart (if you have it) to students who have passed a level.

DURING EACH DAILY SESSION

____ Practice saying the problems and answers aloud while their partner corrects.
____ After two to three minutes, the students switch roles and practice again.
____ Give the 1-minute test to everyone, based on their current worksheet.
____ Collect student folders of students who have passed by meeting their individual goal.

AFTER EACH DAILY SESSION

____ Check to see that 1-minute tests are 100% correct and met their individual goal.
____ Replenish student folders with six copies of the next worksheet. Reuse unused worksheets.
____ Students who don’t pass take home worksheet and practice for homework.

EVERY WEEK OR TWO GIVE 2-MINUTE PROGRESS MONITORING TEST

____ Progress Monitoring tests numbered 1 through 5 at back of the math facts crate.
____ Skip practice that day. Give the test for 2-minutes.
____ Correct as a group: students chorally say the answers and mark their own papers.
____ Students graph the results in the Individual Student Graph stapled into their folders.

Get students ready for the times tables with Conceptual Multiplication

Posted on January 18, 2022April 6, 2022 by Dr. Don

Who needs Conceptual Multiplication?

Students need this learning track only if they have NOT been introduced to the concept of multiplication. This is for students who are not able to figure out the answer to any multiplication fact. When you ask them, for example, “What’s seven times eight?” if they can figure out the answer to that question, then they already understand the concept of multiplication.

Teaches the concept of multiplication.

Conceptual Multiplication is based upon practicing skip counting or count-bys. It will be easiest for students after they finish the “Skip Counting” Learning Track. However, in this Learning Track students can read all of the count-by series except the last number, making this somewhat easier than Skip Counting. Students in fourth grade and above (we are in a hurry, as they are late) should be able to do this Learning Track without doing Skip Counting first. Also, students in fourth grade and above (we’re still in a hurry!) do not need to finish all the way to level Z. They probably have the concept by the time they finish Set H and can go on into the Multiplication (1s-9s) Learning Track. Just sayin’ we’re in a hurry!

How do students practice?

In each box there are 3 items: a, b, and c.

The checker will only need to read the three questions a couple of times until the student knows what is expected at each letter.

(a) What does this problem tell you to do? (ex: 5 x 7) Answer: Count by five, seven times.

(b) Do the count by, that many times. Answer: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35.

(c) Say the problem and the answer. Answer: Five times seven equals 35.

After a time, the student should just say the answers, for example, “Count by 5 seven times. 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35. Five times seven equals 35.”

For the One-Minute Test students just write the answers in the boxes. In the above example the student would write “35” in both boxes.

Video of how students should practice?

Eliminate test anxiety and timed tests with Rocket Math

Posted on August 14, 2021 by Dr. Don

Rocket Math without timed tests

Some students have a lot of test anxiety around timed tests. They become anxious and visibly tense up on timed tests. They actually get worse instead of better when being timed. Parents and special education teachers hate to see that and often want to give up on teaching math facts. Rather than give up, you can use the Rocket Math worksheets without doing any timing. You don’t have to have your student work against the timer. If the student is doing everything right during the practice with you, then whatever he or he gets to after six days of practice, will be good enough. Tell your student,

“Stop worrying, we aren’t going to do the timed tests anymore.”

Your student should continue to practice by saying the facts aloud with the answers while you’re correcting any hesitations. Corrections consist of you interrupting and saying the fact and the answer aloud, having the student say the fact and the answer aloud three times, backing up three problems and going at it again. Have your student do that practice until they have gone around the outside twice instead of for a set amount of time.

After practicing around the outside, and before writing on the inside “One-Minute Test,” have your student also practice orally with you for all of the problems in the One Minute test. Use the same correction procedure.

The One-Minute test does not need to be timed.

Then each day, in place of the timed test, do this. Let your student complete the sheet (the whole page) without working against the timer. Write the answers as quickly as possible without errors. Have the student do this, like I said, for six days and then they graduate to the next page. The only point of the timing is to see if the student has mastered all of those facts. The student will have mastered the facts, if they do the practice correctly every day, so no need for timing at all, really. I have seen students with severe learning problems, who need to do a sheet a dozen times to reach a good level of fluency, but for almost everybody, six days is enough–especially if they will practice both the test and the outside thoroughly and correctly with an adult practice partner who keeps them on task.

If the student wants to do fewer than six days on a set, here’s how.

If your student ever stops being worried during the writing/testing time, you can ask if they’d like to be able to do fewer problems each day. If so, here’s how to set goals. You quietly use the timer on your phone and just mark where the student is on the test after one minute. Count how many were done in one minute and record it on the Rocket chart. Still have the student do all the problems, but keep track of how many they answer in the first minute. By the sixth day you will see that the student has leveled off and hasn’t increased for a couple of days. After counting what’s done in one minute on the last day of three sets, use whatever number they leveled off at, as the goal, and allow them to pass when they reach that goal.

What’s the best order or sequence to do Learning Tracks?

Posted on May 29, 2020January 20, 2023 by Dr. Don

Learn the Basics (add, subtract, multiply, divide) first.

Basic, optional, and alternative—there are a lot of different Rocket Math programs to help students learn math facts. A common question teachers ask is in what sequence should they teach the various Rocket Math programs? The basic programs of Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division (0-9s) have priority and must be mastered by all students. Addition in the first grade. Addition and Subtraction in the second grade. Multiplication (as well as Addition and Subtraction) by the third grade. Then, all four, including Division by fourth grade. If a student is on track, those basics have first priority.

Optional programs if the basics are already on track

The rest of the programs are optional and should be offered to students once the basics have been mastered and only then. The only exception would be in a school where Kindergarteners did not get a chance to learn how to quickly and easily write numerals, through using the Rocket Writing for Numerals program. In that case, you might take the first two months of the first grade year to run students through Rocket Writing for Numerals before beginning Addition (0-9s).

Here’s a link to a printable version of the graphic above.

Kindergarten Students have things to learn before beginning Addition Facts

There are three Learning Tracks in the Universal Level of the Worksheet Program that can help kindergarteners get ready for memorizing Addition Facts in the first grade. These programs are not like the main part of Rocket Math, because they are not set up for peer practice. Instead, the teacher leads instruction, because the little ones don’t really have good skills for working together yet. Using the Beginning Numerals Learning Track, the teacher can teach students how to use their rote counting skill to count objects and identify the numeral that goes with that number of objects. Next the Rocket Writing for Numerals Learning Track will teach students how to correctly, legibly, and efficiently write the numerals 0-9. There are 72 pages in this program, so it will take most of the school year for students to work through it. The third teacher-led learning track is Conceptual Addition. This learning track teaches students what addition is all about by teaching them to count objects to add them together. Most importantly, it teaches student how to “count-on” from a number other than one, so they can add up numbers more than their ten fingers. Click the link to see more information about that.

First-grade Students Should Learn Addition Facts

If first-grade students are taking all year to get through sets A-Z in Addition, they need some extra help. You should intervene to help students who take more than a week to pass a level. Often they need to practice better or with a better partner, and some may need to practice a second time during the day or at home in the evening.

Another intervention would be to use Rocket Math Online Game for Addition facts, as students seem to progress much more quickly in the online game. The Online Game has an adjustable game speed for first-grade students who are having trouble (their difficulty score is over 3) moving their fingers fast enough. First-grade students who finish the 0-9s can move on to the Add to 20 programs for the remainder of the year.

Second-grade Students Must Know Both Addition & Subtraction Facts

Second-grade students must have completed Addition before starting on Subtraction (0-9s). They can also test out of Addition through the Placement Probes which are available within the Addition drawer in the Rocket Math Worksheet program virtual filing cabinet. Addition has priority for second graders who cannot test out of Addition in first grade or didn’t complete it in first grade. Only after getting through Set Z of Addition, should they move into Subtraction. Second-grade students who complete Addition and Subtraction 0-9s can move on to Skip Counting or Conceptual Multiplication, which both do a great job of preparing students to learn Multiplication facts. After that students could do the Subtract from 20 learning track.

Fact Families is Another Way to Learn Addition & Subtraction Math Facts

There is another way to learn facts, through learning fact families. Instead of learning only Addition facts, students can learn Addition and Subtraction facts at the same time. A fact family consists of four related facts, for example: 3+2 = 5, 2 + 3 = 5, 5 – 3 = 2, 5 – 2 = 3.

It is challenging for students to switch between Addition and Subtraction. But it does drive home the reciprocal nature of the two. There is no evidence that it is better to learn in fact families than it is to separate the operations. That’s why we offer both alternatives. You must of course, teach the concepts of both addition and subtraction before students can learn in fact families. Students can learn Add-Subtract fact families up to 10 in first grade. Then in second grade they can learn the Addition and Subtraction upper fact families, from 11 to 18 in second grade.

Third-grade Students Must Learn concept of multiplication and then learn the facts

Third graders can begin the year working on addition and subtraction facts or reviewing them in fact families. They should NOT begin memorizing multiplication facts until after they have learned the concept of multiplication in their math curriculum or used the Rocket Math Conceptual Multiplication learning Track. After they have learned the concept of what multiplication is all about, then have them memorize Multiplication facts 0-9s. Once multiplication is mastered, if there’s time, students who need to can go back to master addition and subtraction facts.

As in Addition and Subtraction, students can learn Multiplication and Division by fact families, provided you teach both concepts first. In third grade, just the Multiply-Divide Fact Families through 20 need to be mastered. Once all three of these basic operations are under their belt, I’d recommend the Identifying Fractions learning track next followed by the Equivalent Fractions, followed by the Factors learning track.

Fourth-grade Students Should Know Both Multiplication and Division Facts

Fourth-grade students need to have completed Multiplication before going on to Division. They can also do Multiply-Divide Fact Families to 20 and then Multiply-Divide fact families from 21 on. If they complete Multiplication and Division, they should go back and do Addition and Subtraction, if those are not mastered, either straight up by operation or in families. Then students can go on to Identifying Fractions learning track next followed by the Equivalent Fractions, followed by the Factors learning track. They can go on to 10s, 11s, 12s Division, but it is less valuable than the pre-algebra skills of factors and fractions.

Fifth-grade Students & Up Need to Know All Basic Operations First, Then Branch Out

Fifth-grade students should have completed all four basic operations (1s-9s). If students have not completed these basics (and cannot test out of them with the Placement Probes), then the sequence they should follow is Multiplication, followed by Division, then go back and complete Addition followed by Subtraction. Again, as an alternative, students can learn the basic facts in families. The same recommendations hold for students in any grade after fifth.

Once students have mastered the basics (1s-9s add, subtract, multiply, divide) the supplemental pre-algebra programs are recommended. These will help more than learning the 10s, 11s, 12s facts. I would recommend this order: Identifying Fractions, then Factors, followed by Equivalent Fractions, followed by Learning to Add Integers, Learning to Subtract Integers, then Mixed Integers.

Rocket Math Worksheet & Online Game

Learn more about Rocket Math: in just 2 minutes! Rocket Math has a fun video for you to learn more about how Rocket Math works. Or check out our website at www.rocketmath.com

Here is a quick and easy chart to help understand which operation/skill students need to learn in which grade level and which Rocket Math Worksheet and Rocket Math Online Game Level they should be at.

Age	Grade	Operation/Skill	Rocket Math Worksheet	Rocket Math Online Game Level
5-6	Kindergarten	Writing Numerals	Beginning Numerals Rocket Writing for Numerals Conceptual Addition	In development
6-7	First	Writing Numerals Addition	Rocket Writing for Numerals Addition 0 through 9s Fact Families 1 to 10 Add and Subtract Add to 20	Addition Fact Families (+, -) to 10 Add to 20
7-8	Second	Addition Subtraction	Addition 0 through 9s Fact Families 1 to 10 Add and Subtract Add to 20 Subtraction 1s through 9s Add-Subtract Fact Families 11 to 18 Skip Counting Subtract from 20	Addition Subtraction Add-Subtract Fact Families to 10 Add-Subtract Fact Families from 11 Add to 20 Subtract from 20
8-9	Third	Multiplication	Multiplication 0 to 9s Multiply-Divide Fact Families to 20 Multiplication 10s, 11s, 12s Identify Fractions Equivalent Fractions	Multiplication Multiply-Divide Fact Families to 20 Multiplication 10s-11s-12s Identify Fractions Equivalent Fractions
9-10	Fourth	Multiplication Division	Multiplication 0 to 9s Division 0 through 9s Multiply-Divide Fact Families to 20 Multiply-Divide fact families from 21 Identify Fractions Equivalent Fractions Factors Multiplication 10s, 11s, 12s Division 10s, 11s, 12s	Multiplication Division Multiply-Divide Fact Families to 20 Fact Families from 21 Identify Fractions Equivalent Fractions Factors & Primes Multiplication 10s-11s-12s Division 10s-11s-12s
10+	Fifth and up	All Basic Operations Fractions Positive/Negative Numbers	Basic Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division Identify Fractions Equivalent Fractions Factors Learning to Add Integers Learning to Subtract Integers Mixed Integers	Basic Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division Identify Fractions, Equivalent Fractions, Factors & Primes, Fraction & Decimal Equivalents (coming soon)