Reply To: Lesson 4-2: Automaticity vs. Memorization

[Paula Harlin]

I’ve always struggled with the concepts of memorization vs. automaticity. I love the idea of providing students with more time to use visuals, problem solving situations, and manipulatives. So often, my students ask if they can just use a calculator or refer to a multiplication table. Sometimes I’ve actually caved and felt pure defeat and said yes, just go ahead!! I’m motivated to now put the calculators away, avoid Mad minutes, and spend more time on number talks, rich discussion, and 3 act math tasks.