Are basic facts required in Saskatchewan Math Curriculum? ¹

Yes!

The curriculum still requires that students know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide numbers. Saskatchewan math curriculum documents also include mental math, where the expectation is that students will be able to recall basic facts. In addition to knowing basic facts, the curriculum also wants students to understand how numbers relate to each other. The relationship between numbers is very important in building the ability to use mental math strategies quickly. How students think about numbers and what strategies they find helpful varies. A teacher balances all the learning needs of the students in the classroom. Students should develop the ability to build and take apart numbers. A game to play with young children would be to give them a number like ‘6’ and ask them, “What number would you need to get to 10?” After students master building to 10, move on to asking question involving numbers to 100, and to 1000. Using friendly numbers such as 10 is a strategy that allows students to perform mental math calculations. The Saskatchewan math curriculum does allow students to use any strategy to solve problems. A standard algorithm for subtraction is one acceptable strategy students can use. When working mentally with numbers, other strategies may prove to be more efficient for certain students.

Any one of the above strategies will provide the correct answer to a subtraction problem. Number sense is a goal of the Saskatchewan math curriculum which requires students recall, as well as understand, basic facts.

¹Government of Saskatchewan, M. How Do I Support My Child’s Learning of Mathematics?. Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://www.edonline.sk.ca/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_3469_1&content_id=_91042_1