Do you find yourself contemplating how to make fluency fast, differentiated, routine and progressive so it fits everyday? Do you want to teach fluency at the beginning of each lesson but find you can’t fit it in or it takes up too much instructional time? The pressure is on to fit curriculum content in.
The term goes by so quickly and before I know it I haven’t included the fluency. Assessment is looming and I know I’ve lost that precious, quick routines that support students to retrieve and consolidate their learning. I know you understand that guilt and shame that often comes with beating yourself up over not allowing enough time for fluency. Assessment is looming and you know you were meant to include fluency but either didn’t know how, couldn’t fit it in efficiently, or were overwhelmed by the pure amount of content which requires such big thinking and planning. Oh, and don’t forget to include the differentiation! No wonder it becomes so overwhelming!
Such a simple routine, and yet so hard to get it right – fast and purposeful! Hard to find time to think about a simple routine that makes sense and is easy to implement, but really, simplicity is actually super hard to achieve.
I’ve often found in my classroom that I’ve battled with fluency integration. When I include fluency it can take up too much time of my lesson and I cant fit in my content into the lesson time frame, or I drop fluency to teach my curriculum program, but then regret losing those small, repetitive moments of practise that are precious moments to build automaticity.
To miss fluency means I loose those repetitive opportunities to develop consolidation, confidence and progressive growth. To combat this I’ve been planning structured, differentiated fluency programs that are quick, routine and build progressive depth and automaticity.
Fluency matters!
Fluency matters because it supports students to work with increasing confidence, efficiency and flexibility as mathematical demands become more complex. This is why I’ve begun building fluency programs.
I’ve begun building a multiplicative series because I’ve listened to teachers pain points. Multiplication requires substantial conceptual understanding alongside purposeful practice before facts become increasingly efficient and automatic. Many high school teachers tell me that their biggest challenge is to get students up to speed with multiplication so they can handle the curriculum without being stuck on the multiplication facts they should be increasingly familiar with.
To develop these fluency programs I’ve taken steps to move beyond rote learning and provide students with multiple opportunities to learn about ‘groups of’ through the integration of many representations.
You may be thinking, well, hands-on and different representations is fantastic, but how does that fit in as fast practise so I still have time to teach the progressive content I have to cover?
I agree that this is a daily challenge. However, I’ve also designed my programs with this in mind. I suggest teachers use common classroom materials wherever possible. We don’t need the next fancy, on trend product, just the regular classroom materials found around school. Familiar routines reduce the cognitive demands associated with managing the routine itself, allowing students to focus more of their attention on the mathematics.
In my classrooms, I often build student packs of materials students require for routines for the term. Just ready to grab and go! I build these packs in the first lesson of the term with the kids. All I need to organise is the container or the button sleeve folder and the shopping bag or clear shelf to store the materials.
Students get use to the routines quickly. Resources and representations are at the ready and then all that changes is the mathematics. Support staff and I monitor this sustainable system to keep materials topped up and ready to reuse, working like a well-oiled machine!
Our fluency remains fast and frequent, allowing students to practise skills, consolidate their learning, strengthen retention and build automaticity.
Written with love, because I care about you and your students.
To explore my resources:
Mrs Rowntree 
Leave a comment