Family Plan Step 6: Your Child's Experience

Overview

After your child clicks “Let’s Get Started,” they will be taken to their dashboard. Here, your child will work through a series of activities that teach different strategies. Each activity includes visual models to help your child better understand the math facts they are learning

Once your child completes all of the activities (you’ll see green checkmarks on each one), the Level Lifter button will unlock. Your child can then choose to take this assessment. If your child shows a strong understanding of the facts at that level, they will move up to the next level. If they are not quite ready yet, they will return to the same level’s dashboard to get more practice before trying again. 

If your child did not pass either part of the Level Lifter, they must earn 900 points on two activities (one for each operation), and if they passed one part but not the other, they must earn 900 points on one activity for the operation they did not pass. This means your child can focus on the activities that work best for them.

While using MathFactLab, children spend most of their time practicing the application of math fact strategies using a variety of models.

Table of Contents

• Length of Sessions
• The  Welcome Popup
• The Child's Dashboard
• Practice Activities
• Unlocking the Level Lifter

Length of Sessions

Your child’s practice sessions can last anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes. By default, sessions are set to 12½ minutes, but you can change this by clicking the edit icon next to your child’s name on the Children tab of your dashboard.

Welcome Popup

Each time your child logs in, they will see their progress table. This table shows the level your child is currently working on, the levels they have already mastered, and the levels they will work on next. Within each level, your child can also see the specific fact family triangles they will need to learn and master as they move through the program.

The Child's Dashboard

Your child's dashboard is where they navigate to their activities within the program. Because your child can choose which activity to work on, you can think of the dashboard as their 'menu.'

• Activity selection buttons  -  These are color-coded to show the math operation (for example, addition or subtraction).
• Level Lifter requirements - This section shows what your child needs to complete before they can take the Level Lifter assessment.
• 'See Your Level' button
• Your Activity - This pop-up displays your child's progress for the current week
• Your child's profile - From here, your child can log out when they are finished.

Practice Activities

To unlock the Level Lifter assessment, your child usually needs to complete all of the activities shown on their dashboard. Each time your child finishes an activity, a green checkmark will appear in the top right corner of that activity button. (The only exception is when your child is working to earn points instead - see the note below.)

When your child is working on an activity, the practice screen usually includes five main parts:

• Problem bar - Shows the math problem in both number form and word form.
• Model bar - Shows a visual model to help your child understand the problem.
• Strategy bar (multiplication and division only) - Shows the strategy your child is practicing.
• Hint button - Provides help to guide your child in using the strategy.
• Progress bar -  Fills up as your child works toward finishing the activity.

Practice activities typically ask children between 20 and 30 problems.

Unlocking the Level Lifter

Your child works through activities to unlock the Level Lifter. When the Level Lifter is unlocked, the button turns green, and your child can choose to take the assessment.

There are typically two main types of requirements for unlocking the Level Lifter:

• Complete All Activities: If your child has not yet taken the Level Lifter at their current level, they will need to complete all of the activities on their dashboard. Once all activities are finished, the Level Lifter unlocks.
• Point Scoring: If your child needs to try a Level Lifter again or is working at the advanced levels, they must reach a points goal before attempting it again.
  • If your child did not pass either part of the Level Lifter, they need to earn 900 points on two activities - one activity for each operation.
  • If your child passed one part but not the other, they need to earn 900 points on one activity for the operation they did not pass.

The rationale for this requirement is that it allows your child the opportunity to focus on their preferred strategies, and earning 900 points gives them a good chance of passing the Level Lifter. Answering all of an activity's problems correctly and within the assigned fluency rate earns the child1000 points.  Points are deducted for incorrect or not-yet-fluent responses.

Click here to learn all about Level Lifters.