By grade three, students should be able to look at a flash card and tell you the answer in the time it takes you to count 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005 before flipping to the next flash card. I will always be grateful to my son's grade two teacher who had her students do Beat the Bell math drill. They had to do a page of basic math facts within a certain number of minutes.

If they can't add at all, start with zeros and ones — they have a system.

• a number plus zero is the number — it doesn't matter what the number is that is being added to zero or one the rule is the same
• a number plus one is the next number on the number line

Next move on to twos, threes and fours.

• use "touch math" so the students can add-up using the points on the numbers
  try to find a font that shows the four with four ends

Teach them to add doubles, like 2+2 and 3+3. This may require memory work.

• make a game out of it — say the alphabet, then say two plus two is four, repeat the alphabet, do another double
• using the doubles they know, you can now teach them a double plus one
  If 4+4=8, then 4+5 must equal one more or 9.

See our Teaching Resources for Math for worksheets, lesson plans, etc.

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