Math: Alternatives to Flash Card Drills

By Michele Blandino

Flashcards are an inevitable part of the early elementary education years. Designed to help kids commit basic math facts to memory, the daily appearance of these little cardboard tests are enough to make any kid (and their parents) opt instead for a lifetime of counting on their fingers and toes.

Let’s face it: flashcards are not fun. Yet, in most schools, they are a required part of the curriculum as they form the foundation needed to learn more advanced mathematic operations that will be introduced in later years.

Fortunately, given the number of math-themed websites that are popping up, there are plenty of computer savvy educators who apparently agree that flashcards aren’t the only way to learn these facts.

Before we take a look at some of these sites, it’s important to remember that while allowing your child to use math-themed websites can potentially eliminate the need to go through the daily flashcard ritual, it should not replace your involvement in your child’s learning of these facts. In reviewing sites, we looked for those that maintain some sort of log or summary of the child’s answers so that you can tell whether:

1) your child is actually playing the math facts games and
2) progress is being made in learning these facts.

We also looked for sites that are free. With these objectives in mind, we recommend the following sites:

• A+ Math - This site has flashcards for all the basic mathematical operations (Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) as well as exercises involving square roots, rounding and fractions. Students are given drills consisting of 10 problems and are prompted to enter their answer. Feedback is given immediately and a final score is provided at the end of the exercise. In addition, there are worksheets that can be completed (and graded) online as well as worksheets that can be printed and completed away from the computer. Finally, this site also contains math-themed games which help the student reinforce their math fact knowledge.
• Blackdog’s Math Flash Card Quiz Games - This is a fairly basic site that contains flashcards for addition, subtraction and multiplication. To help meet the needs of students of all levels, users can choose operations of varying difficulty. Students attempt to answer as many questions as possible correctly within the allotted 60 seconds. A Java applet keeps score and provides a final tally.
• All Math - Here users choose between addition, subtraction, multiplication and division operations. Students have the ability to select the largest number used in the chosen operation, allowing the level of difficulty to increase as the student progresses in their learning. Students can also enable a feature which will prevent a new problem from being displayed until the current problem is correctly answered. Unlike some of the other sites, this one does not have a timer, meaning students are free to answer as many problems as they wish. Similar to the other sites, there is an applet that keeps score.
• Math Playground - This site has a beginner level and an advanced level for students looking for more of a challenge. Unlike some of the other sites, this one has the option of combining addition and subtraction facts within the same test to keep the student on their toes. The applets score as you go through the exercise. The site also contains money counting games for grades one through four.

Needless to say, most kids would rather go through their math drills online. All the same, you should be sure to check with your child’s teacher before you put the flashcards away. While most teachers probably don’t necessarily care how the facts are being learned, some have a strict policy against this type of practice. Its best to be sure before making a change in your child’s homework habits.