Math Mad Minute

I agree with you. Neither of my kids ever did well on those timed math tests. I simply told my kids not to worry about them and downplayed them as much as possible. I acted as if they were no big deal and let them know that I wasn't upset if they didn't do well. By showing my kids that I wasn't bothered by them it helped my kids not to stress so much either. We would practice at home often because we also talked about how the more you practice something the better you get and the more comfortable you get with it. That also helped ease the anxiety because they got used to doing them. I would let the teacher know that the tests are causing your child anxiety just so she knows. Luckily, those tests didn't count much in terms of grades at our school so even though my kids never did well it really never affected their grades.

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I am a fourth grade teacher, but I've taught other grades in elementary school. The Mad Minute program is awesome. Your child will benefit greatly from the repeated, timed practice. It's a personal hurdle that you need to look at as a lesson to grow from. He's capable, and it sounds like you work with him at home, so he's got support. Don't deny your son of this knowledge; help him attain it! I've been teaching for 18 years, and it DOES lay solid foundations of math.

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I'm a teacher and I did timed facts with my students, it's really good, but you are right-some kids struggle. With my struggling students, I started the timer and had them complete all the problems. We recorded the time, then tried to beat that time every time we did fact practice. Good luck!

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He gets graded on this in the 2nd grade?!?! That is nuts! I think it's fine to do as a drill, but not for a grade. It teaches a useful skill, but to add in the pressure of a grade at such a young age I think is counterproductive. Right now school should be about developing a love of learning. I would talk to the teacher. This sort of thing has the potential to make a kid hate a subject he/she previously enjoyed.

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I just want to add that not every child's brain works in the same way. Its so frustrating to see teachers on here talking about how imperative these skills are for success later on in math when this is just not necessarially the case. I struggled tremendously with my multiplication tables when I was in elementary school - to the point where my mother used flashcards with me on the weekends and during summer to try to improve, but the memorization just never happened. It just not how my brain works. My failure to succeed at these tests caused me a lot of doubt and even prompted my teachers to give me an IQ test to determine if I had a learning disability. I scored a 145, btw, which is well above average. Once math got more complicated in middle school and highschool, I started to excell at it, even becoming a member of the math team. It was a shock to me that I actually enjoyed algebra and geometry because I had hated so much what I thought was math when I was younger! I just wanted to share this so you know that not liking or being capable at instant-recall math doesn't mean that your child will not succeed at it later. I wish my teachers and parents had understood this earlier. The kind of critical thinking skills necessary to truly understand math and be good at it really have nothing to do with memorization.

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Hi C.,

I have had struggles in the past with my own two with the system. I have learned from many teachers and parents. You will get a lot advice from teachers for this and against this and the same from parents too. It is good for kids to know math and I say know and understand. In my personal opinion the TAKS testing is out of control. Kids are not learning they are memorizing, not understanding the process no phonics just memorizing. Memorizing is good to a point and should be backed up with the know how,why, and when. Speed math has been around for sometime, to help kids think quickly when handling money for example either at the checkout line or as an accountant. Either way to know is better than to memorize. It helps the thinking process. Kids need to understand how and why. There is online math www.aaamath.com he or she can practice math anytime for free. If your kids know the process it will be easier for her or him to think quickly enough. If the system is all about testing, ask yourself what are they learning if all they are doing is memorizing for testing how to be faster in math? Yes, math is important, but speed has nothing to do with it. I wish you the best and all parents who are going through the same thing. There are many websites you can use online for free to help your children in this process and help them understand not just memorize. Good luck and I hope this helped.

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We can't be graded at only the things we're are good at. We all stumble somewhere on something. This would be very beneficial for him to practice he may need it somewhere throughout his life. Crunching numbers in a matter of seconds. We as people need to be able to adapt and adjust to things. Training for the brain. Don't discourage it this is important. If its adding or subtracting its a baby step he will need for when it come to multiplication and divison. He will be pressed to do the same thing there also. What he is trying to learn now will be something he needs to be able to do next year.

Wow, I thought I was the only one who hated those! My son is in the second grade as well and he doesn't do well on the Math Mad Minute either. I think it stresses him out so he rushes and then in turn doesn't do as well. I'm afraid it makes him feel upset sometimes too that he doesn't do so well. I haven't ever discussed it with the teacher though so maybe I should. Our teacher however does not take a grade on them. I guess they're are just more for practice. Hang in there!

I am a 6th grade math teacher. I applaud your son's teacher for doing the mad minute.

The teacher is teaching the students to become automatic in their thinking of basic math facts. So many students do not memorize +, -, x, and division facts. Therefore when most students go on to middle school and high school where they have to know the basic facts to be successful in more difficult topics they struggle tremendously.

Keep encouraging your son and he will get better. As he gets more familiar with the facts his confidence will increase on the tests and score better grades.

The US has to start somewhere to increase out countries math standings and it has to start with our youth!

My daughter, who will be 18 on Monday, hated timed tests at that age and would get so stressed about them she would cry. She always did beautifully, but the pressure she put on herself was intense. I talked to her teacher and they are not required to take these and many kids react badly to them. Talk to the teacher. My daughter quit taking these and still does beautifully in math without having had the stress of a timed test.

C., I understand your frustration. I was one of those kids that was nervous doing the mad minutes. Now I am a teacher and "get it". The true purpose of these is to get the student to know the facts without having to think about it. It's having number sense. If you know them without thinking about them, more difficult math will be much easier. I teach 4th grade right now and I have students that don't know 10-7 and I am trying to teach them higher level multiplication. I wish the students had been forced to learn the simple addition and subtraction facts to the point that it is just there and not necessary for them to count on their fingers. Most of us know our telephone number without thinking about it. Students need to get to that point with their math facts. I know it's stressful, so let your child know that you won't be too upset if he chokes. But still stress the importance of knowing these facts inside and out.

Hi C.,

I used to work at a school for 8 years. We did Mad Minutes and it was so much fun!! I think it's to get them to know there addition, subtraction etc.... quicker. Like look at the problem and BAMM!!! the answer should be right there! We did not grade them on it rather we looked at their papers, corrected them and gave it back to them to show them which are the ones they need to know better. I personally took it with them sometimes and we just had fun with it. We even had the principal come in and try it with them too! If he knows his Math then Amen it's just to be able to know it better and have him be able to answer it within seconds. It's also for teachers to know who is strong in Math and who needs more help in certain areas. That would also help us determine what kind of Math areas to work on with them.

Good Luck!!!

Hi C.,

My daughter had to do the Mad Minute stuff also, but, the way it was done is simply that I would time her on how long it took her to do all of the problems. It was never stressed to do it in One Minute.

I would talk with his teacher and make sure he understands what their trying to accomplish.

Good luck,
D

Hi C.,
My daughter had the same problem with any timed test, like your son she would get really nervous and choke. She said that she knew she was going to do poorly before she started. Like the other moms, we worked at home but I also taught her to relax before a test was taken. Once she started to relax at the beginning she started doing better and started enjoying the challenge.
I told her to take a deep breathe before starting and in her head tell herself that she can do this, she knows the work, and she is going to do good. If she had to do the method a couple of times, ok for her.
I also talked with her teacher and asked if my daughter could have a "test buddy". A small toy to put on her desk or in her pocket for a test. (This was my daughters idea) She said that her test buddy was used only for tests and was there to remind her to relax and do her breathing. Her test buddy lasted about a month.
The most important thing is though... I always emphasized that doing her best is all I ask.

I don't think your second grader should get a grade on it. That's wrong to me. It should be about personal growth and "beating" one's own time, not whether or not you get all of them in time for a grade.

I was a first grade teacher and did the Mad Minute. The most current findings in Math have found that memorization of addition and multiplication (times tables, yay!) is the best way (they thought this when I was young, too, and then went to other methods), and children need to have automaticity with it (where it's completely automatic, not added on fingers). Automaticity in math is on par with reading fluency, and very important. Later on, children need to be completely automatic with those simple math skills when working on higher math skills, KWIM?

Memorization and Mad Minutes should not take the place of teaching math skills, but I think it's a valid way to increase automaticity. It should NOT be graded, though. It shouldn't be about that. Just like increasing one's fluency in reading, it's about being your personal best.

I teach middle and high school math, and I am SO excited to hear that your son has a teacher who is stressing this type of instant recall. The purposes are many. It builds confidence in a sound knowledge base. It keeps students from counting on their fingers. Some schools give national tests that are timed for math, and that requires good, fast, recall. It is easier to plan a solution to a problem if you do not have to worry about the adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing that go with it. I could go on.

Practice at home. Use flash cards. Let him go to www.coolmath.com and play the math games there. Some are timed, some are not. I promise, the fluidity that he gains will serve him immensely when he begins learning multiplication facts and already KNOWS he can remember math!

Hang in there!
M.

Have him do the same thing that you have done in school do the ones that you know first. Then go back. Test him also when he does not know. He may just worried about he time. When he does well let him know.

I asked on of my daughter's all time favorite teacher about how to help children that choke during testing or timed activities.

She said to give your daughter some hints about calming herself down. Tell her to take a large breath, blow it out slowly, then lower and relax her shoulders and try it again. This will help her to calm herself before the stressful event.

I loved the suggestion about letting the child go as fast as she can and timing her, then next time let her beat her own time. Genius!

My son loves the mad minute. He thrives on the challange of beating his time from the last time. I think it's wonderful for teaching them to do the work without thinking about it. The education system is getting so watered down anymore that kids are relying too much on computers and calculators and can't do simple math in their head. I work with a person who can't add 4 one digit numbers in their head without writing them down. To make a long story short, help your child out in the long run by getting them used to doing things the old fashion way, learning.

they are trying to prep them for TAKS. They are trying to prepare them for the timed tests and added stress of timed tests.
I had my son tested this summer for learning disabilities and all they could find was that he :chokes: on timed tests. So much so that they game me a letter to exempt him from the timing portion. They will still give him the same tests but not be allowed to time him.
I like the math mad minute, I even use it myself. So I know the stress my kids are under.
If they are using the site to "test" them once a week, it is most likely a very small portion of the overall grade.
You can have your son use it at home to get more acquainted to the timing, as when he gets in the class situation he might get more nervous hearing all keys typing on the other computers and think he is not doing as well as he really is.

This happened to my daughter when she was in school, she has a an 99 average in math, and they put her in the bottom of the class because she was slow at it. This is the most stupied thing I had ever heard of in my life. But doing it fast is more important than accuracy. No wonder students are coming out of school not performing well in life. I have a staffing business and accuracy is more important than fast.
I finally home schooled my last 2 children and even though it was hard it sure paid off. They are both very success and one is making $50 pr hr. and the other after 2 yrs of working is making $28.00 pr hr
Math is my best subject and also had a 99 average in algebra, but was very slow at it. But back in those days it was better to be correct than fast (no timing used).

I have only taught college, not grade school. But, I am an excellent test taker. I wasn't at first and then became one. I also successfully taught it to my oldest and my youngest is coming around. Firstly it's not about math, it's about being tested. Most people fear testing because they look at it as the Wizard of Oz curtain being pulled and the fraud of what they don't know being exposed. They are looking at the A or the 100 and fear how far they will fall from that. The point of view has to be changed. Look at tests as an opportunity to show off what you do know. Think of the grade building from 0 up. Every answer adds to the grade. Breath, relax, and be confident. This takes lots of re-inforcement if there has already been lots of bad testing events. Testing just lets us see where our clarity stands with the information. Tests are not the definer of us. No one is bad at math, they just may not be very far along the way through the information at this point. At any given day he can speed faster down the path. There may need to be a lengthy time of encouragement and compliments about improving scores instead of good scores. "Wow, this is so much better than the last one. You are really improving. I am proud of you for staying calm and applying yourself." This is hard to do when the school constantly makes comments that don't help. Teachers in general I find do not know how to produce good test takers. I had to pull my child out of the pre TAKS environment because the faculty at the whole school is a nervous wreck and it transmits to the kids.(She made 2 perfect scores by the way).
After a while and you see that your child is actually able to show what they know without being nervous then you can start pushing but be careful and watch for any signs that he is identifying himself by the score.
When he owns his confidence you can ease into demanding great grades. At this point we talk about the 'knowing of the answer', to know when you know and to know when you are making an educated guess. This is the difference between what questions you go back to review and the ones you leave alone for times sake. It's the difference between a 100 average and an A. But that comes much later.

We practiced times tests at home so they seem common and he is expectant emotionally and not caught off guard. Turn the test around. Have him do for you the correct amount of questions and time how long it takes. The each time he can race against himself to see if he beats his time. He will see himself get closer and closer to the 60 second mark. When he gets to 50 seconds he will go confidently to the next test. There are entire books with these and some online. I copied the ones they sent home from the weekly tests and made her do those a lot.

God Bless

Edit: I just read your 'what happened'. I agree that spitting these numbers out ASAP has no relation to math actually. Math is the understanding of number relationships not memorizing them. Understanding is not ever touched upon by the great majority of math teachers. Some of them don't actually have understanding and many people in general don't realize that there even is such a thing. So, with most people not knowing that there is number understanding concepts it is no wonder so many people are feel negatively about math as adults. It only takes a couple of people at the top of the education profession ladder to bring in a technique, whether it works or not, and then everyone adopts it as the current standard. Our kids are the guinea pigs.

You know, that was the one area at our last teacher conference that I have thought about a lot since. My son's teacher said "He is good at math but is just not fast enough." My thoughts on that are, why does he have to be fast? Like you, I know my child is a good student and can do the work, and my kid even likes math and jumps into his homework every night without me asking him to, etc. So I, personally, am not going to do anything about what I don't consider to be a problem. There are just going to be parts of the public school agenda that I don't agree with, and while I want to support my child in being as successful as possible, I won't push him where I feel it isn't needed (and in this case, a push may backfire and make him more self-conscience and slow). My son just looks at his own progress and tries to his best each time, and he is way faster than he was in first grade, so I'm fine with that. Ask him to do his best and focus on something else.

I definitely feel your concern. My son and I went through this every week as well. He is very strong in math as well. His teachers use to send home the sheet with the math problems every Monday. So, I use to make several copies of them and every night he would do two timed sheets. It worked very well cause although I timed him, just like he does in class he was not stressed cause his goal was to just do as much as he could. By Thursday night he would be able to complete the sheet in just under a minute. Then on Friday, when he was tested, he would not be stressed and confident about his problems.
He is now in the 6th grade and although those mad minutes were a pain in the rear, his math abilities are pretty strong because he knows those basics extremely well. Compared to my daughter who did not do this cause we changed schools at the time she would have been exposed to this and her new school did not do mad minutes. She has to first take the time to think of her basics, then begin her problems.
I hope you try this technique out and if the teacher does not send home the sheet, request that she send it home with your son. It is worth the time especailly if they have to do it anywy.

Good luck!

I know you've already gotten a lot of responses, and I didn't read them all, so if you've already heard this, ignore and forgive me. I was a teacher who did minute tests, and am also an aunt of a nervous minute math taker. One thing that could help is to let your son see how long a minute really is. Sometimes they get freaked out because they don't think it's as long as it is. Have him sit still and do absolutely nothing while you time out one minute. Maybe that will help calm his nerves. I hope this helps!!!

You could go to a teacher supply store and pick up a mad minute math book. Make some copies of the pages. Then let your little man practice. Give him the first page, which should also be the easiest. Then give him 2 minutes to finish it. Make a little chart so he ca track his progress. Then when he makes the 2 minute goal, challenge him to see if he can answer them in under a minute. Then move on to the next page. Just do it once a day, so it will be relatively painless.

I did this with a few of my students in Idaho when they were having trouble. The goal setting helped them feel successful and not as stressed.

Also, I have a more fun version of the mad minute. If you'd like I could send it to you. And then you could both do it together. It's a little awkward to explain, but my students also liked to do this one. It's easy to tweak to make it multiplication, division, or subtraction.

My son is in 2nd grade and they have timed tests as well. At first he did not do well and got really frustrated. We used flash cards and worked everyday on them. Any that he did not readily know he had to say the problem and the answer 5 times. I am bad at math and I learned it by memorizing. After 25 years, I still remember it. Don't allow him to give up or give him an out. There are alot tougher tests in life that you can't opt out of and learning to deal with the stress now is better. Practice, practice, practice

Some moms mentioned flashcards, but since that is not the format of the one-minute-math, you should switch to the format of test the teacher gives him. The more familiar he is with the sheets, the more comfortable he will be with the in-class test. It is one thing to test verbally, another to test written. The brain processes the information slightly differently.
My daughter went to a Vanguard school and they had to know 100 multiplication problems in 5 minutes the very first day of 4th grade, so there was no time to even think about the answer. They had to just KNOW it immediately. The first day of school, she made a 29 (after making perfect grades in her local school the year before), the second week she made a 58, and the third week a 90. Speed has really, really helped her now that she is in high school.
The parents who suggest that the teacher is valuing speed over accuracy are mistaken; the teacher is expecting BOTH.

I remember doing those in elementary school---I hated them! I would get incredibly nervous and do poorly, even though I was a good student.

I think they are fine for homework practice or to do as a game in class (ungraded), but in my opinion a student should not be graded on speed, especially when they are practicing new skills.

I have read all your responses that have posted thus far so I won't repeat, but I do agree with the majority. You need to help practice. My daughter also had mad minutes and loved the challenge!! Her teacher actually gave us a math sheet and a transparency sheet to put over it. She would solve all the problems(with a transparency pen) and then we would erase and start all over, that way we wouldn't waste paper:) She loved seeing her progress week to week. Are you sure that the teacher is using that grade? With my daughter's class her teacher would grade it, but it was more to see their progress than anything.
I just wanted to tell you that you need to think about trying to get him "off the hook" with these tests. What we do in their young years can affect them in their older years. We can not always be there to write notes when we don't approve of something or something is to hard for them. We have to work them through it the best we can and get them the resources to help them too. Later in life I guarentee he will run into something that he doesn't like that he will have to work through...college or a job....the last thing you want to teach him is that it is ok to quit when things get tough. I hope this help!! I know as a mother we are always trying to help and protect our children, but sometimes we have to push them, that will be more rewarding!! Just think about he will feel when he gets those mad minutes..that will be the greatest feeling for him..not to mention you!!

C. B.
Arbonne Consultant
www.MoreTime4MyKids.com
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My children's school also has mad minutes and they had difficulty with the time restrains, as well. We practiced everynight using flashcards and we would see how many they can get right in 30 seconds - like a game. In the process, they were able to memorize their addition/subtraction/multipilcation/etc. facts. After a week or so of doing this every night, they weren't as apprehensive in the class room, since they were able to build up confidence with our little "game" at home.

My youngest is 17 so it's been awhile but I didn't care for the mad minute either.
He eventually got over the nervousness at mad minute time but he got so used to doing the math as quickly as possible and just writing down the answers that he ended up getting marks off on regular tests for not showing his work in third grade. We were called in for a conference with insinuations being made that he cheated. He told the teacher that he could see the tables when he closed his eyes and, after a little verbal quizzing, she decided that he was telling the truth and told him to just write in the margin "can see tables".
I think they should stick to one way of teaching things. Either they want it fast or they want it detailed.