factsfirst is an online math program that helps children practice and learn the basic math skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Students practice their math facts in a drill type manner. The goals of factsfirst are speed, accuracy, fluency.
Placement testing is incorporated into the system as are mini lessons for extra understanding, reviews and lots of practice. Factsfirst makes the “chore” of math facts into a fun learning game.
The student begins by making an avatar that will represent him or her in the program. Hair styles, facial features and clothes all make the avatar suit each child’s individuality. This created character is then used in all the lessons.
The avatars were fun to create for my kiddos and upon entering the program each child immediately recognizes their avatar and there’s no confusion about which one belongs to who.
The lessons are brought to the child in full color with a narrator to assist in the reading. My favorite aspect of the functionality is the use of the spacebar or enter key to submit answers and move on to future screens. The mouse is not required to enter answers which allows for a smoother quicker response. The lessons are eye-catching and the numbers are large making it obvious for early learners. The content increases in difficulty as the child begins to master the material.
The arcade is a nice little break in between lessons. While these are games, they help to reinforce what has been learned. There are five games to choose from and game breaks are timed so as not to spend too much practice time just ‘playing’.
Then you have the Math Facts Matrix… this is by far my absolute favorite part of this program. You and the child can immediately see, at a glance, what facts are a struggle and where the child excels. I love the visual ease of this screen. I don’t have to look through reports to figure out on what we need to work a litte extra. I can take one quick look and see where the practice needs to be concentrated.
My only complaint with factsfirst would be that it stops at division! lol I love the user interface. I’ve tried programs that required installation and frankly they’re just really slow to load and often end up messing with my whole pc. I love the online aspect – no bogging down my system and we can play it anywhere, on any pc that has internet access!
A year’s household license for up to four children is $49.99. You can learn much more about the program at http://www.factsfirst.com
-Sara O’
I like your review and the order of pics. I was not able to ever sign in so just reviewed the free stuff. Julie, TOS Crew
http://www.trainupforeternity.blogspot.com
we really enjoyed factsfirst. the kids really liked using it more than some of the others we've tried.