What Are Related Facts or Fact Families?
First off, what are we talking about teaching here? Related facts are math facts that show the relationship between equations that use the same numbers. Each fact family has 2 related addition facts and 2 related subtraction facts. Since these are "related" they make a "family". Get it?! My firsties LOVE it when I point this out to them!
For example, the numbers 1, 3 & 4 make a fact family and would use the following equations: 3+1 = 4, 1+3 = 4, 4-1=3, 4-3=1. In first grade, we work with numbers through 12 for fact families, but as students progress in understanding, you can work with larger numbers too!
Teaching fact families, or related facts is important because it helps students understand the basic operations of addition and subtraction. Not to mention, working with fact families allows for tons of math practice as well. Once your students get the hang of this lesson, they'll be excited to solve their math facts and build families on their own!
Tips for Teaching Related Facts
Ready to chat about some practical tips to get started teaching fact families in your room? Let's dive into my favorite tips for related facts!
Tip #1 - Use an Engaging Introduction
This first tip is one that I consider to be "ole reliable" no matter what I am teaching. Why? Well, I'm a big believer in first impressions. The very first time we're exposed to a new idea or topic can truly make or break how we view it, right? Even if we have good experiences to follow, that first impression or introduction will forever be imprinted on our minds! This is why it's SO important to make sure that when you introduce fact families, you do so in an engaging way! We want our kiddos to get excited and curious about fact families and eager to work with them. How do we do this you ask?
Well, in my room I really lean into the "family" concept and introduce this topic with a fun little drawing on an anchor chart. I select 3 numbers to use for my fact family and draw 3 people to represent each one. Don't worry, simple stick figures are fine! I write that number on their bodies and explain to the children that this is our "fact family" and that every fact family has 3 numbers.
Then, next to the people/numbers, I draw a large house and add in +, -, and = to create the spaces for the 4 equations in our family. I show the children how we use these 3 numbers to fill in the equations and write each one. This is when I explain that since the facts are "related", meaning they use the same numbers, they make a family! My kids love this explanation and usually catch on pretty quickly. We practice this together for a while, creating a few houses and adding fact families to them.
This introduction is also really helpful to do with the use of manipulatives or magnets to illustrate each equation. I like to do this with my whole group first, and then try it again in small groups later - which brings me to my next tip!
Tip # 2 - Work With Related Facts in Small Groups
As I mentioned above, I tend to do our very first introduction as a whole group. But, I like to model fact families and how they work again in small groups to make sure my kiddos are really getting it! This is a great time to do an informal assessment and mentally take note of where students are at this point as well.
When working in small groups, I have students practice writing their facts on a dry-erase board as we build. Depending on the skill level of your students, they might catch on right away, or need some additional modeling. In that case, a fun video like this one might be just the right approach! Spend adequate time on the introduction before moving on. I promise this makes all the difference!
Once you're certain your students are getting it, consider using a fun craft in your small groups to let each student build a fact family of their own. We use the one in this resource, which features a space for students to write the numbers in their family, a place to show how many, and a place to fill in their fact family facts. After they are finished, they get to add a page topper student and decorate it however they wish. I love doing this craft with my students in small groups and seeing those lightbulbs go off! As an added bonus, this resource also includes practice worksheets that I like to send home after this lesson as a follow-up. They also work really well as a morning work assignment the day after for review.
Tip # 3 - Practice, Practice, Practice Fact Families!
You knew this one was coming, right?! Practice makes progress, so plan on using many different activities to help your students practice. As I mentioned above, for students who need more support, you may want to supervise practice activities in a small group setting until they get the hang of it. This will allow you to immediately correct any errors and prevent students from practicing incorrectly.
Some of the things that we use for continued practice include center activities and worksheets. The options in this resource are some of my go-to's since they feature a fun superhero theme that my firsties adore! As the children work hard on these topics, I remind them that they are super kids and fully capable of figuring tricky things out! This is a good motivator for students who may not be getting it right away.
Inside this resource, you'll find 32 task poke cards with recording sheets and 4 different worksheets for extra practice. The task poke cards are great to laminate and use over and over again and work really well for center time since they are self-checking. To use, students will find the missing number in each equation using fact families, part part whole, and number bonds. I find that all of these cards work well for teaching related facts, but you may also choose to use only the fact family cards to keep it simple.
Inside there are also some additional practice pages too. I like to assign these as another center activity, homework, or fast-finisher tasks. My kids especially love the mystery picture worksheet!
Tip # 4 - Use Learning Crafts to Cement Fact Families
Hey wait, didn't we already use a learning craft? Sure did, but can you really ever have enough? When it comes to primary learners, I truly believe that using educational crafts is a valuable use of time. The reason for this is the excitement that they generate. I can't think of many other ways to get first graders excited about doing math facts.... Can you?
So, consider using a fun craft to finish up your lesson on fact families and related facts like this one. If your students are anything like mine, they will love showcasing their skills by writing out fact families on the acorns and adding them to the tree. Not to mention, these make the cutest fall bulletin board display when students have finished as well!
Each tree reads "Going NUTTY with Fact Families." I use large bulletin board letters to spell out this phrase and add it to the top of the board. Add some silk leaves from the dollar store and a cute border and you've got an adorable, festive fall display that shows off how hard your students have been working on fact families and related facts!
Also included in this resource, you'll find even more worksheets and fun activities like color by code and mystery pictures. These are great to keep on hand for review after you've finished teaching this topic.
Have Fun With Fact Families
Are you excited to give this a go in your classroom? I hope so! This is a really fun lesson to teach and will help so much when it comes to fact fluency and understanding addition in subtraction in the primary grades. If you'd like to try these resources out in your room, you can find them all (and more) in my TPT Shop. As you begin working with fact families, remember to have fun with it! Math doesn't have to be boring after all!
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