X is for Xtramath
What is xtramath?
Xtramath is a website where a teacher can create accounts for their students and monitor their progress as they learn their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division tables. It is a drill and practice-type program that monitors which facts they already know and which facts they still have to learn. It is catered to each individual student. As the student masters one operation, they move onto the next. The teacher has options to shorten or lengthen the time period for the students to answer the questions. It takes about 5-7 minutes to complete a lesson, and the students need to do it every day to master their facts. |
How is it used in my school?
Students come into my math class with their own devices, or they borrow a school device. The program will work on Chromebooks, iPads, laptops, and desktop computers. I have trained the students so that they know the first task of math class is to complete their xtramath. They log in on their own and the lesson is there waiting for them. The program moves them along to the next level as they are ready. I love that each student has an individualized program and they can move on when they have mastered a fact.
The only time I need to monitor or do anything with the program settings is when a student has completed the program. Then I generally move them on to a shorter time period so that they have to be faster. I can also check statistics and student mastery of the facts.
I like using the program at the beginning of class because it get my students settled and working quietly immediately. I use those few minutes to take attendance, figure out who I need to correct with that day, hand back corrections, and to speak with my co-teacher about what is happening for that class.
Students come into my math class with their own devices, or they borrow a school device. The program will work on Chromebooks, iPads, laptops, and desktop computers. I have trained the students so that they know the first task of math class is to complete their xtramath. They log in on their own and the lesson is there waiting for them. The program moves them along to the next level as they are ready. I love that each student has an individualized program and they can move on when they have mastered a fact.
The only time I need to monitor or do anything with the program settings is when a student has completed the program. Then I generally move them on to a shorter time period so that they have to be faster. I can also check statistics and student mastery of the facts.
I like using the program at the beginning of class because it get my students settled and working quietly immediately. I use those few minutes to take attendance, figure out who I need to correct with that day, hand back corrections, and to speak with my co-teacher about what is happening for that class.
Isn't drill and practice frowned upon?
Some teachers and educators would agree with the statement that drill and practice should not be encouraged. Others will disagree strongly. I agree that in the early years, students should understand that multiplying is the same as repeated addition, and the rationale behind why 5x6=30. I teach middle years, and by this point I believe that students should have these basic facts mastered, so I use the program to help them with the rote memorization. A colleague suggested the program after I spoke with her about the amount of reteaching I was doing in my classroom and the amount of stalling of learning the outcomes that was happening because students didn't know their basic facts. This program has strengthened their rote memorization of the facts so that we can move on to working with fractions, decimals, integers, and word problems. |
Where can I get more information?
Go to www.xtramath.org to set up an account and to find more information. You can set up different classes of students and create accounts for them. They will only need the classroom code to get started. Everyone does a placement test to see what they will need to learn!
Go to www.xtramath.org to set up an account and to find more information. You can set up different classes of students and create accounts for them. They will only need the classroom code to get started. Everyone does a placement test to see what they will need to learn!