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I have included four of my literature reviews and a APA formatted reference list of the 10 articles I have found that relate to my topic.

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Key ideas from the article: Teaching Addition and Subtraction Word Problems to Children

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Key ideas from the article: Teaching Addition and Subtraction Word Problems to Children

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According to Shannon (n.d.), "learning mathematics involves learning ways of thinking. It involves learning powerful mathematical ideas rather than a collection of disconnected procedures for carrying out calculations.  In our math curriculum, Everyday Mathematics (EDM), the first three units are focused on building number sense, problem solving skills, addition and subtraction strategies.  EDM stresses the importance of children learning and practicing a variety of math fact strategies to develop stronger math fact fluency.  "Generally, subtraction facts are harder for children to learn than addition facts. If a child knows that 6 + 9 = 15, and he or she sees the subtraction sentence 15 - 9 = __, the child can think, 9 and what are 15? I plan to encourage students to think of the related addition fact when they encounter a subtraction fact they don't know".

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(Scholastic, n.d.)

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What they'll practice: Identifying odd and even numbers

What they'll need: One deck of cards per pair

How to play: Students should remove all face cards and divide the deck in half. Students flip over cards one by one to make two piles: odds and evens. After the fastest flipper puts down his last card, he calls out, "Stop!" and his opponent freezes. The opponent checks both piles. If a mistake is found, the opponent gets to finish flipping her own cards into piles until she finishes or makes a mistake (at which point it would revert to the other player). Play continues until all piles are correct and a speed racer crosses the finish line!

2. Flashlight Tag

What they'll practice: Basic math facts

What they'll need: Chalkboard or interactive whiteboard, two flashlights (one with colored cellophane wrapped around the top to distinguish between teams)

How to play: Before class begins, list several numbers on the board (either in rows or random order). Divide your class into two teams. One player from each team should come to the front of the classroom. Turn off the lights and ask the students a math problem. The first student to flashlight-tag the correct answer wins a point for his or her team. Modify this game to suit your needs by changing the symbols on the board to match whatever you're studying.

3. Subtraction Salute

What they'll practice: Addition, subtraction

What they'll need: One deck of cards for every three students (face cards are worth 11)

How to play: Two players are the "soldiers" and one player is the "general." Deal half a deck to each soldier. To begin the game, both soldiers salute the general by holding one of their cards up to their forehead (they can't see the card they're holding but the other two players can).

The general (the only one who can see both cards) adds the two numbers together and says the sum aloud. Each soldier then takes that sum, subtracts the number her opponent is holding, and calls out the value of the card she can't see. Whoever calls out the correct number first gets to keep both cards. Play ends when time runs out or someone wins all the cards.

4. Coin Toss

What they'll practice: Coin values, addition, subtraction

What they'll need: Small buckets, lots of coins (fake is fine, but real is more fun!)

How to play: Stagger buckets under the chalkboard. About six feet from the board, tape lines on the floor. Divide students into groups of four and give each team a baggie full of coins that amount to one dollar (two quarters, three dimes, two nickels, and ten pennies work well).

When you say "go," the first line of students tosses coins one by one into their team's bucket. When the first person makes it in, he writes the amount of the coin on the board and the next person in line tosses. If she gets the coin in the bucket, she adds the amount to the total on the board. If she misses, she picks it up, subtracts it, and goes to the end of the line. (The next person isn't allowed to toss until the numbers are totaled.) The first team to reach a dollar wins!

5. Double Down

What they'll practice: Adding doubles

What they'll need: Two dice, one piece of paper, and one pencil per student

How to play: In pairs, time students so that each round of play lasts five minutes. When you say, "Roll 'em!" everyone rolls their two dice simultaneously. Anytime someone rolls doubles, they say, "Double Down!" Both students in that pair should stop rolling, then add the value of the dice, and record the sum under the player's name who rolled it.

As play continues, students keep track of both sets of scores. Whoever has the most points at the end of five minutes wins.

6. Slam Ten

What they'll practice: Adding multiples of 10

What they'll need: One deck of cards per pair

How to play: Remove face cards and deal each player half the remaining cards. Taking turns, players flip cards faceup one by one. When the first card is revealed, both players multiply the number shown by 10 and say the value out loud. For instance, if one flips over a three of clubs, both say, "Thirty."

Players keep flipping cards one at a time, always adding the value times 10 and saying it aloud. For example, if the next card was a four of hearts, they'd both say, "Seventy," because 30 plus 40 is 70.

Whenever the total value of the cards lands on 50, 100, 150, etc., either player may "slam" the deck with his hand. The fastest slammer keeps all the cards. When time is up, each player counts the value of her cards in 10s (not the number of cards!) to determine a winner.

7. Firecracker

What they'll practice: Addition, subtraction

What they'll need: Two decks of flash cards, one noisemaker

How to play: Place students in a straight line. Determine where the middle of the line is. This is where the "firecracker" will go off. Place a maraca, clapper, or anything that makes noise there.

Now, you and another student start on opposite ends of the line and show flash cards to individuals. As facts are correctly answered, students sit down and play goes on to the next person on the "fuse." When the last person (closest to the firecracker) answers correctly, he gets to sound the noisemaker, announcing a victory for his team.

This game can also be played with several, smaller fuses for an even more exciting bang!

Plugged In: Practice Math Online

Maggie's Math Games
With these two interactive games, kids can help Maggie the Explorer journey around the world or save her dog Dude, using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. (Choose what you want kids to practice).

Max's Math Adventures
Invite kids to listen to a scenario starring Max and his friends, then practice related math concepts, ranging from shapes to addition to simple graphing. Perfect for the interactive whiteboard!

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7 Games for Practicing Math Facts | Scholastic

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What they'll practice: Identifying odd and even numbers What they'll need: One deck of cards per pair How to play: Students should remove all face cards and divide the deck in half. Students flip over cards one by one to make two piles: odds and evens.

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(Burns, n.d.)

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1. Arithmetic skills are necessary life tools that children must learn.

As adults, we use arithmetic daily. We add, subtract, multiply, or divide when we balance our check-books, calculate tips in restaurants, figure out how much wallpaper to buy, finance a car, keep score for games, and so on. A person who can't do arithmetic is handicapped in many situations.

Classroom strategies: To help children appreciate the importance of arithmetic, ask them to interview their families about when they use arithmetic. The question they should ask is: When do you have to add, subtract, multiply, or divide to find out something you need to know? Record what children report on a class chart. (For older children, sort the information into two groups: "at work" and "at home.") Afterward, discuss how the chart shows that arithmetic has many useful purposes.

2. Arithmetic should prepare children for real world math.

Most of the daily situations that require arithmetic call for more than merely counting. For example, we need to problem-solve in order to decide on the numbers to use or which operation to choose.

Classroom strategies: Involve children in solving problems that relate to classroom routines, such as:

When taking attendance, count children present, then ask the class to figure out how many are absent.

Ask children, when lining up, to predict whether everyone will have a partner.

When collecting milk money, involve students in making change and figuring out how much everyone spends on milk.

Involve older students in figuring out how much classroom supplies cost, such as a year's supply of paper.

For class parties, have the students figure out how much refreshments will cost.

3. Learning to compute mentally is an essential skill.

We do many of our daily arithmetic calculations mentally, such as when we keep track of what we put in the supermarket cart so we don't go over the $20 we have, when we divide a check at a restaurant, or when we double a recipe that calls for 3/4 of a cup of broth. Usually we don't reach for paper and pencil, but figure in our heads.

Classroom strategies: Ask children to do mental math on a regular basis. Call it "hands-on-the-table" math and ask children not to reach for paper or pencil, but to reason in their heads. Try this:

For younger students: Have two children take a handful of beans or tiles and count how many they have. Ask the class to figure out how many they have together. To verify, count the objects. Or ask each student to put two cubes in a jar and then have the class figure the total number of cubes in the jar. To verify, count the cubes by 2s, 5s, and 10s. (Not all young children know that you'll get the same result no matter how you count.)

For older students: Scoop beans into a jar using a coffee scoop and have the students count how many scoops it takes to fill the jar. Then give pairs of students a scoop of beans to count, discuss with the class what might be the average number of beans in a scoop, and then have students calculate mentally how many beans are in the jar.

To calculate efficiently, it's important to know basic facts.

Students should have math facts at their fingertips before they leave elementary school, such as addition and subtraction combinations to 20, multiplication tables to 12 x 12, and related division facts. Students learn some of the facts easily, such as adding 1 to any number or doubling numbers. Still, memorization is necessary to learn all of the facts. Classroom strategies: While memorization is needed, it should follow, not precede, understanding. Before they're expected to memorize addition combinations, young children should have many experiences combining sets of objects and learning to record addition sentences. And even when memorizing, children should be encouraged to look for patterns and to reason. A child who can't recall how much 8 x 4 is, for example, should be encouraged first to think about something familiar, like 8 x 2 or 4 x 4, and then use that information to figure out 8 x 4.

Students need to know when accuracy is essential and when estimates will suffice.

When we balance our checkbooks or make change, accuracy is important. But in many situations, estimates will do, such as when we double the amount of broth for a recipe or measure fertilizer for the lawn. Sometimes estimates are the only answers possible, such as when contractors bid for jobs, business owners figure margins of profit, or school districts predict the next year's budget.

Classroom strategies: While knowing how to calculate accurate answers is important, students also need experience estimating and learning when estimates are appropriate. Have students review the list they compiled about when their families do arithmetic. Then talk about when accurate answers or estimates are needed. Also, provide opportunities for children to practice estimating. For example, give prices for several items and have them figure out the smallest bill they could use - a $5, $10, or $20. Or ask students to figure out about how much milk they drink in a week, a month, or a year.

Calculators are basic tools that have their place in the classroom.

Practically everyone today has a calculator. We use them when numbers are too complicated for us to do in our heads. Using a calculator is easier than resorting to paper and pencil, and valuable when we want to be sure we're correct. Calculators should not be viewed as arithmetic crutches, but as useful tools.

Classroom strategies: Calculators can help children think and reason numerically. For example, they're useful for introducing decimals. Third graders can explore equations like 5 x __= 24 or 3x __= 40 with the help of a calculator, and learn how decimals work.

There are different ways to reason numerically.
Ask adults to double 38 in their heads, and you're sure to hear several different methods. Some add 30 and 30 and then add on 16. Some double 40 and subtract 4. Some double 35 and add 6. Some think about multiplying, not adding. There's no one best way.

Classroom strategies: Give students opportunities to discuss different ways to compute. With young children, for example, have them think about all the different ways they can add two numbers. Older students can talk about different ways to add or multiply two-digit numbers. Have all students who volunteer explain their reasoning aloud so students can learn from one another.

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7 Basics for Teaching Arithmetic Today | Scholastic

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Arithmetic skills are necessary life tools that children must learn. As adults, we use arithmetic daily. We add, subtract, multiply, or divide when we balance our check-books, calculate tips in restaurants, figure out how much wallpaper to buy, finance a car, keep score for games, and so on.

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Mental Math Subtraction Strategies (Gray, 2011)

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Mental Math Subtraction Strategies (Gray, 2011)

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So, after releasing my Mental Math addition units on Teachers Pay Teachers, I had many people inquiring about subtraction strategy units. I am SO excited to announce that they are officially FINISHED and posted! I am truly grateful for all of the amazing feedback that I've received for the addition units, and I am confident that the subtraction set is just as great!

Subtraction can be a really difficult concept to teach. For me, like many others, it is because I personally am not as comfortable with subtraction as I am with addition. This is most likely true for the majority of your students. Therefore, it is extremely important to equip your students with strategies that will enable them to solve subtraction equations efficiently and effectively. There are many, many mental math strategies that you can teach your students. I have developed units for the ones that I feel are the most important in order to develop a strong foundation for subtraction skills.

I have uploaded the YouTube video below which will help you understand a bit about each strategy, as well as why it is important to teach mental math. Whether you have purchased my units or not, I hope that this video will give you some valuable insight into mental math subtraction strategies. For those of you who are not up for watching a video today, I have included a written description of each strategy below.

1. Counting Back and Counting Up: These are actually two separate strategies, but are so closely related that I decided to include them together in the same unit. Counting back is normally the first strategy that students use when they are learning to subtract. Counting back simply means starting with the minuend (the largest number) and counting back to figure out the difference. For example, in the equation 13-2, a student would think, "13...12, 11" to get an answer of 11. It is very important to remember that counting back is only an effective strategy when the subtrahend (the number being taken away) is a 1, 2, 3 or 4. With subtrahends that are higher than 4, students tend to get mixed up with their counting and get wrong answers. As I mentioned earlier, counting up is closely related to counting back. With counting up, students start with the subtrahend and count up to the minuend. For example, in the equation 10-7, a student would think, "7...8, 9, 10" to get a difference of 3. Counting up is only an effective strategy when the difference between the minuend and subtrahend is a 1, 2, 3 or 4. For example, in the equation 15-5, counting up would not be effective, as students would most likely lose track of how many numbers were being counted.

2. Thinking Addition: Thinking Addition is another strategy that students generally learn early on. Thinking Addition simply means that there is an inverse relationship between addition and subtraction. For example, in the equation 13 - 3, students should think, "What can I add to 3 to make 13?" in order to get a difference of 10. Learning about fact families is an important aspect of this strategy. When students realize that addition equations and subtraction equations can be formed with the same three numbers, they are more likely to use one operation when working with the other.

3. Using Doubles and Building on Doubles: Doubles are some of the easiest facts to remember for many students. When students have achieved mastery with addition doubles, they can use them to solve subtraction equations such as 12-6 or 18-9. Developing automaticity with these facts will cause them to be easily recognizable so that students simply know the fact rather than having to think about it. Building on Doubles means using near doubles in order to solve a subtraction equation. For example, for the equation 15-7, students should think, "I know that 15 is 1 more than the double of 7, so the answer must be 1 more than 7."

4. Using Ten: Ten is otherwise known as a "friendly number" in mathematical terms. This is because it is an easy number to work with. With the 'using ten' strategy, students learn to substitute ten for another number, and then later adjust the answer. For example, in the equation 13-8, students will first think, "10-8" to make a difference of 2, and then add on the remaining 3 that was taken from the original equation to make a total difference of 5.

5. Compensation: Compensation is one of my favorite subtraction strategies, because once students know how to compensate, they can begin using it in many different math situations. Compensation is most effectively used when the subtrahend of an equation is either an 8 or a 9. When using compensation, students change the subtrahend to a 10, and then adjust the answer. For example, for the equation 15-9, students will first calculate the difference to 15-10 to make 5. Then, because 1 too many was subtracted from the original equation, 1 must be added to the difference to make 6.

6. Expanding the Subtrahend: Expanding the subtrahend is a valuable strategy when working with multiple digit equations. Students use expanded notation for the subtrahend, and subtract it in two steps. For example, in the equation 45-21, students first perform 45-20 to make 25, and then subtract 1 more.

As I mentioned in my blog post about addition strategies, it is important to think of each strategy as a tool that you are giving each student for his tool kit. Once students have all the tools, they can decide for themselves which one will do the best job. However, in order to choose the most effective tool, they must have a really good understanding of how each one works. This is why it is so important to help students develop mastery at one level before moving onto the next.

Mastery means that students can perform the strategy efficiently, without confusion and uncertainty. To develop mastery, it is important to teach each strategy in isolation before integrating them together and expecting students to choose the best one for the job. This means that if you are beginning with the counting back strategy, you should teach it in full until students are completely comfortable with it. Then, once they are comfortable and you feel that they have achieved mastery, it is time to move on to counting up, while still reviewing counting back. Once mastery has been achieved with respect to counting up, students are ready to learn about thinking addition, and the process continues. Your ultimate goal when teaching mental math strategies should be to get students to the point where they can look at an equation and use an effective strategy to solve it. However, they will not be able to do this unless you allow them to achieve mastery of each strategy and use it extensively before moving onto another one.

One point that I really want to take the time to stress is using mathematical language in your teaching. If you use mathematical language in your teaching, your students will use it too, regardless of their age. In a subtraction equation, the minuend is the largest number, the subtrahend is the number being taken away, and the answer is called the difference. Use these words ALL the time when you look at an equation or write an equation on the board. You will find that your students will begin using these words in no time! Also, teach students to use the term "most effective strategy" or "most efficient strategy" when they are talking about math. When they see an equation, you want them to think about which strategy would be the most effective or efficient. Ask them why. For example, in the equation 8-4, students should realize that using doubles is more effective than counting back.

If you begin to make mathematical discussion part of your everyday routine, you will likely begin to notice students developing their own math strategies, which is exactly what you want to happen! When you have provided them with a solid foundation, students will naturally use what they know to invent other strategies that work well for them. And seriously, how great is that?! Even if you don't understand a student's thinking, if it works for them, then that is fantastic! This means that you should not be forcing students to use one specific strategy once they have mastered all of them. Once learning and mastery has occurred, then allow students to use the strategy that is most effective for them.

I hope that this discussion has been valuable for you. If you have any questions about these strategies or need more information on how to teach them, please feel free to comment below or contact me through my Facebook page, "Teaching Resources by Shelley Gray."

Additionally, here are some links that you may find useful to your mental math instruction:

Thanks so much for reading! Have a great day,

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So, after releasing my Mental Math addition units on Teachers Pay Teachers, I had many people inquiring about subtraction strategy units. I am SO excited to announce that they are officially FINISHED and posted! I am truly grateful for all of the amazing feedback that I've received for the addition units, and I am confident that the subtraction set is just as great!

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Fluency: Simply Fast and Accurate? I Think Not! (Gojak, 2012)

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Fluency: Simply Fast and Accurate? I Think Not! (Gojak, 2012)

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The President of NCTM, Linda M. Gojak explains, "Focusing on efficiency rather than speed means valuing students’ ability to use strategic thinking to carry out a computation without being hindered by many unnecessary or confusing steps in the solution process. Accuracy extends beyond just getting the correct answer. It involves considering the meaning of an operation, recording work carefully, and asking oneself whether the solution is reasonable" (2012).  In the article, she includes a description of computational fluency, from Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, that discusses the importance of computational fluency.  This involves students' flexibility in the use of a variety of math strategies and computational skills to find solutions.

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By NCTM President Linda M. Gojak
NCTM Summing Up, November 1, 2012

As mathematics educators at all levels consider effective implementation and instruction related to state or Common Core standards, a frequently asked question is, "What does it mean to be fluent in mathematics?" The answer, more often than not, is, "Fast and accurate." Building fluency should involve more than speed and accuracy. It must reach beyond procedures and computation.

Principles and Standards for School Mathematics states,"Computational fluency refers to having efficient and accurate methods for computing. Students exhibit computational fluency when they demonstrate flexibility in the computational methods they choose, understand and can explain these methods, and produce accurate answers efficiently. The computational methods that a student uses should be based on mathematical ideas that the student understands well, including the structure of the base-ten number system, properties of multiplication and division, and number relationships" (p. 152). What a wonderful description of fluency! It reminds us that a student cannot be fluent without conceptual understanding and flexible thinking.

Focusing on efficiency rather than speed means valuing students' ability to use strategic thinking to carry out a computation without being hindered by many unnecessary or confusing steps in the solution process. Accuracy extends beyond just getting the correct answer. It involves considering the meaning of an operation, recording work carefully, and asking oneself whether the solution is reasonable.

Fluency encompasses more than memorizing facts and procedures. In fact, I believe memorization is one of the least effective ways to reach fluency. Anyone who has spent time teaching in the elementary grades realizes how many students are unsuccessful at rote memorization and how often they revert to counting on their fingers. We would agree that third or fourth graders who are counting on their fingers certainly have not reached a level of fluency, even though they may do it pretty quickly and accurately!

How do we help students progress from the early stages of counting to mathematical fluency? Let me give you a personal example. At the beginning of the school year, I gave a class of third-grade students a sheet with 10 addition facts. Under each fact was the word "explain," followed by a line. I asked one of the students the sum of the first fact, 8 + 9, and she immediately began to count on her fingers-certainly not the action of a student who is fluent with addition facts. Before she reached the sum I asked her, "What do you know that would help you find the sum of 8 and 9?" She thought for a brief time and replied, "Oh, it's 17." When I asked her how she had gotten that without counting, she looked at me and said, "I just took 1 off the 8 and gave it to the 9. That made it 7 + 10. That's easy-it's 17."

One might argue that child was not fluent. I believe, however, that she demonstrated fluency and more. She was able to use her understanding of place value, addition, and the associative property to arrive at a correct response. She was efficient, accurate, and flexible in her thinking-all in a matter of seconds. What made the difference between her fumbling first attempt and her successful second one? It was being provided with the chance to stop and think about what she already knew and apply that understanding to 8 + 9.

Do we give students the opportunity to think about what they know and understand and use it in ways that make sense to them? Do we model questions that students should be asking themselves as they strive to reach fluency in mathematics? As the student completed that assignment, she didn't need much more prompting. She continued to work on the rest of the facts efficiently and flexibly. She no longer needed to count on her fingers to complete the assignment.

It is interesting to note that fluency isn't mentioned in the high school Common Core Standards. The standards for grades K-8 refer to fluency in relation to mastery of basic facts and computational skills. As we think about fluency, we should realize that it is more than procedural. Are there mathematical topics in which we want students' thinking to be flexible, efficient, and accurate beyond computation and procedures? Can a student reach fluency in areas of geometric thinking, algebraic thinking, statistical reasoning, or measurement? What does geometric fluency look like? What are the characteristics of a student who is fluent in algebra? What areas of fluency in the K-12 curriculum reach beyond procedures and calculations but are not mentioned in the standards?

Our students enter school with the misconception that the goal in math is to do it fast and get it right. Do we promote that thinking in our teaching without realizing it? Do we praise students who get the right answer quickly? Do we become impatient with students who need a little more time to think? As we strive for a balance between conceptual understanding and procedural skill with mathematical practices, we must remember that there is a very strong link between the two. Our planning, our instruction, and our assessments must build on and value that connection. Fluency entails so much more than being fast and accurate!

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Fluency: Simply Fast and Accurate? I Think Not! - National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

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Linda M. Gojak As mathematics educators at all levels consider effective implementation and instruction related to state or Common Core standards, a frequently asked question is, "What does it mean to be fluent in mathematics?" The answer, more often than not, is, "Fast and accurate." Building fluency should involve more than speed and accuracy.

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Mental Math Fact Fluency Practice Website (IXL Learning, 2016)

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Mental Math Fact Fluency Practice Website (IXL Learning, 2016)

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IXL | Add and subtract numbers up to 20 | 2nd grade math

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Improve your math knowledge with free questions in “Add and subtract numbers up to 20” and thousands of other math skills.

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Helpful Articles and Websites for My Action Research Project

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Helpful Articles and Websites for My Action Research Project

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Mental Math Addition Strategies (Gray, 2015)

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Mental Math Addition Strategies (Gray, 2015)

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This is a useful instructional tool that I can use when planning for different addition strategies I want to implement into my math instruction.  I could use these cards "to reinforce mental math addition strategies" (Gray, 2015) with my second graders.

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Article: Teaching Addition and Subtraction Word Problems to Children (Shannon, n.d.) 

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Article: Teaching Addition and Subtraction Word Problems to Children (Shannon, n.d.) 

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07.06.01: Teaching Addition and Subtraction Word Problems to Children

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The Yale National Initiative to Strengthen Teaching in Public Schools, which builds upon the success of a four-year National Demonstration Project, promotes the establishment of new Teachers Institutes that adopt the approach to professional development that has been followed for more than twenty-five years by the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute.

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After researching different articles and websites about elementary addition and subtraction strategies as well as automaticity with math facts, I more thoroughly understand the importance of instructing students on many different fact strategies to improve their fact fluency.  Students must develop their number sense through math talks and different types of student learning activities to practice their number sense and basic operations skills.  It is crucial for students to build upon and strengthen their computational skills, mental math fact fluency and knowledge of strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems.  Students will be able to transfer their learning and understanding of various addition and subtraction strategies if they are given opportunities to apply their knowledge and skills of fact strategies in different math practice situations.

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1. Without the use of consistent Mad Minute testing, it is difficult to determine whether or not students have mastered automaticity with their math facts.
2. By the end of second grade, many students still struggle with fluently subtracting numbers within 20.
3. I have four ELL students (3 that have a very limited English vocabulary). Therefore, they require extra support with learning and understanding the math vocabulary.
4. Will I collect data on a group of students or the whole class? When and for what specifically will I need to have parent consent forms signed?

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When observing my students' use of a variety of math fact strategies during class discussions (math talks) and small-group activities, how will I collect qualitative data or enough data to show how knowledge and understanding of addition and subtraction strategies improves my students' automaticity with math facts?  What will my data collection methods look like?  Will I have enough time to collect enough data to show learning different addition and subtraction strategies successfully improves my students' math fact fluency?

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Common Core State Standard for Fact Fluency (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2016)

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Common Core State Standard for Fact Fluency (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2016)

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http://www.corestandards.org/Math/Content/2/OA/
CCSS.Math.Content.2.OA.B.2 Add and subtract within 20.
Fluently add and subtract within 20 using mental strategies. By end of Grade 2, know from memory all sums of two one-digit numbers. Concern: what are the best forms of assessments to use to collect data on fact fluency? I have used Mad Minutes before, but our district does not want us to rely heavily on this form of assessment because it has been proven to cause test anxiety.  I plan to use Mad Minutes at times to 'check in' on my students' progress with automaticity but I will need to find alternate forms of assessment for data collection.

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Great resource to refer to when researching mental math and addition and subtraction strategies

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"Number Talks" is: (1) a five- to fifteen-minute classroom conversation around purposefully crafted computation problems that are solved mentally; and (2) The best part of a teacher's day. Whether you want to implement number talks but are unsure of how to begin or have experience but want more guidance in crafting purposeful problems, this dynamic multimedia resource will support you in building mental math and computational strategies.

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I strive to develop my understanding of addition and subtraction strategies and implement my research into my math instruction and student learning activities to advance my students’ knowledge of math strategies to improve their automatic recall of addition and subtraction math facts within 20.

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Teachers involved in action research have a desire to make a difference and “want to do something to improve their own situation” (Sagor, 1992, p. 7).

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I plan to study addition and subtraction strategies to improve my students' automaticity with math facts and how this will benefit them in the second grade.