IMPORTANT: Before asking children to memorize answers to math facts, be sure that they can demonstrate what the math fact means.
Curvy Numbers is a way to help children remember these math facts:
3+5, 5+3, 8-3, 8-5, 8+5, 5+8, 13-5, 13-8
I came up with the Curvy Numbers math strategy during one of my initial years of teaching. I was a special education teacher in the Paradise Valley School District in Arizona, and had a student who could not remember the answer to the facts in the 5-8-13 family, so I looked at the numerals and saw that 3 5 8 looked similar, and I would draw the numbers for them to show that 3 could fit into an 8, and 5 could fit into the 8, with curves. (It is not so obvious with the font in this blog.)
Of course, 5+8 is 13, not 3, but the students were required to first use counters to see that the answer was 13, and they remembered these facts by their Curvy Numbers: 3 5 8
Little by little, over the years, I would “see” different tricks to help my students succeed with learning math facts. Knowing facts automatically gives children confidence and ability to be able to do higher level math.
Check out other strategies in earlier posts of this blog.
All of the tricks and strategies are in two reproducible workbooks: Two Plus Two Is Not Five and Five Times Five Is Not Ten. When you are at the website, check to see if there is a sale going on. Occasionally there are discounts on one or both of the books because some book covers have scuff marks or a damaged edge. The insides of the books are perfect. This is a great way to save money, and all purchases include a free sheet of reward stickers!
