Number Club: A Developmental Math Program

Following is a synopsis of an article that appears in The Oregon Mathematics Teacher
(TOMT) Magazine, October 2007: "Number Club: A Developmental Math Program for Elementary  Students" by Gail Gerdemann, Oregon State University, Science Education PartnershipS (funded by Howard Hughes Medical Institute) and Jackie Cooke, Gresham-Barlow School District.   TOMT is published 6 times a year and is sent to members of the Oregon Council of Teachers of Mathematics (OCTM). TOMT includes information about activities of OCTM, and publishes teacher articles and student activities for grades K-14, and
teacher-education colleges.  To read the full article, go to
www.octm.org/TOMT/Number_Club.pdf

by Gail Gerdemann, Oregon State University, Science Education PartnershipS (funded by Howard Hughes Medical Institute) and Jackie Cooke, Gresham-BarlowSchool District

If you’re as old as I am, you may recall the SRA Reading program with different colored levels. I remember how motivated I was to move up the spectrum to the ultimate purple level. Today’s students are also motivated by the possibility of reaching the top level in the Number Club Program.   As students travel through these math clubs, they get practice in numeral writing, see the patterns in our decimal number system, learn math facts in a systematic way, and are introduced to a variety of computation strategies. The Number Clubs help students develop number sense and computation strategies in a fun way and their teachers appreciate how easy this program is to implement, even in large classes.

The first two clubs, Basic Number Club and Advanced Number Club, provide a framework for methodically working through the patterns that make up our base-ten number system. The two facts clubs, the Addition-Subtraction Facts Club and the Multiplication-Division Facts Club, help students to learn facts using a continuum of strategies with minimal memorization. The two computation clubs, the Advanced Addition-Subtraction Strategy Club and the Advanced Multiplication-Division Strategy Club, build on understanding the facts strategies and introduce more advanced strategies to solve multi-digit problems. This program is a tool to differentiate instruction within the frame-work of a whole group lesson….and best of all; it’s a hit with children!

To become a member of each “club,” students must successfully complete a series of worksheets; this is analogous to the colors in the SRA Reading Program. There are six Number Clubs (see details below). Students begin in one of the six clubs based on their skills (see suggested grade levels for each club below). At the top of many of the Number Club papers, the strategy is illustrated in a patterned chart and at the bottom of the page, there is mixed practice using that strategy. In the two facts clubs, students see that using strategies pares down the number of facts to memorize (e.g. only 10 addition facts to memorize!). At the end of the facts and computation clubs, there are pages of mixed problems where students practice identifying which problems can be solved with a particular strategy. These “Strategy Find and Solve” pages group a couple of strategies together on one page. After solving the problems using the targeted strategies, students are encouraged to go back and solve the remaining problems on the page. 

This is an easy program to do even with large classes. To begin, start with the first paper in the club, e.g. “Tracing Numbers 1-30” in the Basic Number Club. As students successfully complete the worksheet, they are given the next club paper; the second Basic Number Club paper is “Writing Numbers 1 – 30.” One easy way to manage this activity is to prepare folders of blank papers for each club and an “active folder” for the papers students are currently working on. When it’s time to do Number Club, just pass out the papers in the “active folder” including the next paper for anyone who has successfully completed a club paper. If a student’s paper has just a few mistakes, return it and have the student find and correct errors; you can either circle the incorrect answers or tell the student how many problems need correcting. Sometime, however, a “do-over” may be necessary for a paper with extensive mistakes.

The Number Club program can also be successfully used as “Math at Home” enrichment, as part of a math program for selected students (either remedial or advanced), or by anyone working with an individual student. See full details for using in and out of the classroom in the article published in the Oregon Teachers of Mathematics journal, TOMT October 2007, http://www.pacifier.com/~octm/TOMT/numberClub_page1.pdf

Basic Number Club:  Click here to get printable copies of club papers

As students travel through Basic Number Club, they get practice in numeral writing and seeing the patterns in our decimal number system. Basic Number Club grids include a few scattered numbers in the correct spots to help students along the way. Students work up to writing numbers to 200, work with hundreds charts to identify patterns of numbers, and skip count by 2's, 5's, and 10's. This club is typically recommended for use with kindergartners and first graders.

Advanced Number Club: Click here to get printable copies of club papers

This club focuses on advanced skip counting skills, number comparisons, number sequences, and place value. In this club, students will explore the relationships between and among numbers greater than 100. This club is typically recommended for use with first and second graders.

Addition-Subtraction Facts Club: Click here to get printable copies of club papers

This club's worksheets introduce students to addition and subtraction facts in a methodical way along a developmental continuum of increasingly more difficult strategies. Targeted practice at the beginning of each worksheet illustrates the pattern found in the strategy and that strategy can then be applied to the mixed practice problems at the bottom of the sheet. Mixed strategy pages group a couple of strategies together on one page and students circle and solve problems that use a particular strategy. By coloring in addition and subtraction facts charts, students discover the exciting news that the use of strategies pares down the number of facts to memorize--only 10 different addition facts! This club is typically recommended for use with first and second graders.

This club's worksheets introduce students to strategies for solving multi-digit multiplication and division problems.    “Strategy Find and Solve” pages group a couple of strategies together on one page; students are encouraged to go back and solve the remaining problems on the page. This club is typically recommended for use with third and fourth graders.