How Can You Make the Most of Addition Flashcards?

STOP IT!  JUST STOP IT!  If you want to bore kids out of their minds and keep them from wanting to learn their addition facts, give them a box of  flash cards and say, “Here, practice these.”

1.  Kids are overwhelmed with the whole stack.
2. Kids are bored and most likely off task shortly after you have given them the stack of cards.
3. They have no way to help make connections with the patterns if the cards are disorganized.

For these reasons and probably a few more, using flashcards cause little impact upon learning.

SO….Do this!

Have students sort their cards by helping strategy.  For example, have students pull out all of the doubles facts and stack them.  Then have them pull out all of the doubles + 1 facts and stack them.  Haves students layer the cards so that the doubles sit on top of the doubles + 1 facts.  That way they look at one that is familiar and then progress to one that isn’t as familiar.  For example, place 5 + 5 on top of  5 + 6.  If 5+5=10, 5+6 must be one more–11.

The easy doubles facts helps students know that the doubles +1 facts are just one more in their answer.  Not only this, but you are teaching properties of operations when students layer their flashcards.  Furthermore, layering the cards by helping strategy helps them make a matching game of sorts out of their flashcards.

You can also layer sums of ten on top of sums of ten + 1 for the same effect etc.  Always have students layer their math fact cards to help them learn patterns.  When they learn facts with patterns, they have something to “hang” or attach their learning to which produces a higher impact than handing them the whole box.

For a printable version of these flashcards complete with printable backs, you can go here.

All sums to 19 are included.  These cards ARE separated by helping strategy complete with teacher notes so that you can print them in color and arrange them more easily by their helping strategy.