Basic Facts

Basic facts are all the number facts we want children to be able to recall instantly, such as doubles, number bonds to ten and multiplication facts. Building knowledge of basic facts is essential for developing mental agility, and to be able to solve problems using mental strategies.

It is very important that every child builds up a bank of recalled Basic Facts. They need to be given lots of experiences to USE these to solve problems, and develop understanding of how they are using this knowledge within their strategies.

Here is a link to a useful overview of the progression of Basic Facts:

Basic Facts Progression Tracker

Thank you to Shona at Lochyside RC Primary for adapting this new version, which is all on one sheet – it might be useful to blow this up to A3 size:

Basic Facts Progression Tracker

This is linked to the Highland Numeracy Progression and can be used to track individual children’s progress. The tracker has been developed to allow children to focus on one set of facts at a time – as their knowledge grows and they know one set instantly, then they can move on the next set.

Children need lots of opportunities to explore and practise the set of facts they are working on – have a look on the Games and Resources pages for some great ideas for building knowledge. Numicon, dice, dominoes, ten frames, rekenreks, playing cards are all great resources too, as well as games and apps online.

 

There are Basic Facts quizzes and graphs for each set of facts. The Basic Facts assessment can be used to identify a start point for older children:

Knowledge assessment – Basic Facts

These can be used on a weekly basis to assess knowledge, and are a great way to develop children’s sense of responsibility for their own learning. The quizzes and graphs can all be found on the Maths and Numeracy site on Glow – just follow the link from the Home Page, or contact me by email if you would like more information!

These Basic Fact Bookmarks can also be used for homework so parents and children can work together on their knowledge of basic facts. A big thank you to Lisa from Bonar Bridge for contributing these:

                 

 

Early Level Basic Facts Bookmark

Early Level Basic Facts – Parent Information Card

First Level Basic Facts Bookmark (a)

First Level Basic Facts Bookmark (b)

Second Level Basic Facts Bookmark (a)

Second Level Basic Facts Bookmark (b)

Second Level Basic Facts Bookmark (c)