Mental Math Grade 6 Teacher's Guide

Rationale
In modern society, the development of mental computation skills needs to
be a goal of any mathematical program for two important reasons. First of
all, in their day-to-day activities, most people’s calculation needs can be
met by having well developed mental computational processes. Secondly,
while technology has replaced paper-and-pencil as the major tool for
complex computations, people still need to have well developed mental
strategies to be alert to the reasonableness of answers generated by
technology.
In modern society, the development of mental computation skills
needs to be a goal of any mathematics program.
Besides being the foundation of the development of number and
operation sense, fact learning is critical to the overall development of
mathematics. Mathematics is about patterns and relationships and many of
these are numerical. Without a command of the basic facts, it is very
difficult to detect these patterns and relationships. As well, nothing
empowers students more with confidence, and a level of independence in
mathematics, than a command of the number facts.
...nothing empowers students more with confidence, and a level of
independence in mathematics, than a command of the number
facts.
Teaching Mental Computation Strategies
The development of mental math skills in the classroom should go beyond
drill and practice by providing exercises that are meaningful in a
mathematical sense. All of the strategies presented in this guide
emphasize learning based on an understanding of the underlying logic of
mathematics.
Mental Math – Grade 6 7