Use Dominoes to Build Numerical Fluency

Would you enjoy reading if you had to sound out every word? Beginning readers start out reading letter by letter and progress to reading whole words at a time. Reading fluently is the ability to read and understand text without stopping to analyze each part. Reading fluently allows the reader to focus on the meaning of the text. Children with strong reading fluency feel more confident in reading and enjoy it more.

Would you enjoy math class if you had to use tally marks to calculate the simplest problems? Beginning math students start out counting one object at a time and progress to calculating in larger quantities, or “chunks.” A key part to numerical fluency is the ability to imagine various quantities and then mentally arrange them as needed.  Numerical fluency allows students to focus on higher level thinking like, reasoning, logic and strategy. Children with strong numerical fluency feel more confident in math and enjoy it more.

Students develop reading and numerical fluency through practice. Many students do not get enough practice at school to develop numerical fluency skills.

Dominoes

Dominoes are a great tool for checking and developing numerical fluency. If someone were to ask you how many dots were in the picture of dominoes, you would not count them one by one. Counting by ones is inefficient and prone to errors.

Check your Child’s Ability to “chunk” quantities

Start by having your child identify tiles with patterns of dots that they are familiar with and can identify without counting. If your child is in preschool or kindergarten, start with tiles with zero to four dots. First graders should be able to identify quickly (under two seconds) the quantity of dots on tiles with up to ten dots. Second graders, and higher, should be able to identify quickly the quantity of dots on tiles with up to fifteen dots. 

Do not be alarmed if you find that your child is counting. With enough practice, they quickly progress to looking like a math whiz. You can help build their bank of mental pictures of various quantities and practice using their mental pictures to build strategies for calculations. For example, here are two of the many ways to make twelve out of domino tiles.

Build their Bank of Mental Pictures

Make a game out of identifying various dot quantities as quickly as possible. Lay all the tiles face up. Choose a quantity based on what they could quickly identify from the activity where you checked their current ability.

Let’s say your child could quickly identify combinations up to twelve. Set a stopwatch and see how long it takes them to find groupings of twelve. Record the time. Put the tiles back, mix them up, and repeat the same quantity again. Did they beat their time? Stay with the same quantity until if feels too easy. Then choose a different quantity.

Dominoes are one way to build a bank of mental pictures for numerical fluency. At Mathnasium of Cottage Grove, we give the kids the practice they need for strong numerical fluency.  Give us a call today to learn more about our program.

You may want to read these other articles.

Why Do Kids Struggle With Algebra?

Why Do Kids Struggle With Fractions?

Why Do Kids Struggle with Geometry?

Why Number Sense is the Beginning of All Math Ability?

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