School admin? Schedule a demo

Strategy-Based Basic Facts Practice Online that Builds True Fluency

Our conceptual approach—powered by visual models—helps primary students develop lifelong mental computation skills and the basic facts fluency required by the Refreshed New Zealand Curriculum.
Get Started

A Different Kind of Basic Facts Website

While many basic facts programmes rely heavily on outdated drill-and-kill methods, MathFactLab takes a completely different approach. Built by an educator and grounded in research, our platform replaces rote memorisation with strategy-based learning to develop genuine number sense.
Students construct a deep, conceptual understanding of basic facts by working directly with multiple visual models, such as area models, ten frames, dice, beads, number lines, and bar diagrams.
Addition number bond represented with ten frames.
6 times table problem represented with dice
Number bond represented on a rekenrek.
5 timestable represented with a clockface
Division by 7 represented on a bar diagram
Number bonds to 20 represented on double bar diagrams
4 timestable problem represented with ten frames.
Number bond addition and subtraction represented on a number line
7 timestable modeled with an open array with one dimension missing
5 times table modeled with dice
4 timestable problem using area models
6 times table shown on a number line

Developing Fluency through Mathematical Reasoning

At MathFactLab, we believe that true fluency is built on a deep understanding of how numbers relate. We represent basic number facts through a diverse range of visual models, allowing students to see the connections between inverse operations. This interconnected fact families approach builds webs of undestanding.
When developing mental computation and basic facts fluency, a learner might tackle problems using open arrays, number lines, or dice. These strategic models empower students to realise that their previously mastered basic facts are actually the building blocks for acquiring new basic fact knowledge.

Mastering Number Facts Through Visual Representation

When pupils work on addition and subtraction fluency, they engage with ten frames, Rekenrek beads, number lines, and bar models. These visual aids help them recognise that numbers aren't isolated, but part of interconnected fact families. By understanding these relationships, the task of mastering basic facts becomes far more manageable and intuitive.
Regular use of these models allows learners to build robust mental images, deepening their conceptual understanding of the four operations. Multiplication and division are no longer seen as separate hurdles but as inverse operations—two sides of the same coin. This foundation is essential for developing overall maths fluency.
As students practise their basic facts online with MathFactLab, they begin to spot the patterns and links that define our number system. This leads to swifter mastery, boosted confidence in the classroom, and significantly improved outcomes in mathematics.
Primary teachers, whether your students are building fluency with early addition basic facts or mastering their multiplication facts, MathFactLab delivers the strategy-based practice they need to thrive in maths.
Collage of math learning tools including an analog clock showing 8:23, number blocks, dice, abacus, star cards, and a number line with addition and question marks.

You’ll Love MathFactLab

It's easy. Get your class started in minutes.
Student practicing math facts.
Adjust settings to match the specific pace  of every learner.
Customise accessibility to ensure success for all.
Enhance your classroom teaching with individualised basic facts practice. Our approach naturally develops a broad spectrum of core mathematical concepts and skills.
MathFactLab automatically pre-assesses each student, ensuring they are placed at the perfect starting point within our basic fact programmes.
Track progress across all year groups using our intuitive dashboard. Identify at a glance which pupils require additional support or specific interventions.
Boost learner confidence as students take pride in their progress, celebrating their growth through every stage of the refreshed curriculum.

What the Research Says

Basic fact knowledge is critical. The Number Framework emphasises that the process of deriving number facts using mental strategies is important in coming to know and apply these facts.
- New Zealand Ministry of Education
Numeracy Professional Development Projects: Book 1 - The Number Framework, p. 14.
The best way to develop fluency with numbers is to develop number sense and to work with numbers in different ways, not to blindly memorize without number sense.
- Jo Boaler
Stanford University Professor of Mathematics Education and Co-Founder of You cubed, in her article Fluency Without Fear: Research Evidence on the Best Ways to Learn Math Facts
Many studies over many years have compared traditional basic fact instruction (i.e., drill) to strategy- focused instruction. All of them show that strategy groups outperform their peers on using strategies and on automaticity and accuracy.
- Jennifer Bay-Williams & Gina Kling
Math Fact Fluency: 60+ Games and Assessment Tools to Support Learning and Retention. citing research from Baroody, Pupura, Eiland, Reid, & Paliwal, 2016; Brendefur, Strother, Theide, & Appleton, 2015; Locuniak & Jordan, 2008; Purpura, Baroody, Eiland, & Reid, 2016; Thornton, 1978, 1990; Tournaki 2003
Fluency includes accuracy, efficiency, flexibility, and the selection of appropriate strategies. Pupils progress through phases: counting, then deriving, and finally mastery. The most effective approach requires pupils to master number relationships before moving to automaticity.
- Mark McCourt
Teaching for Mastery, 2019
Research supports the use of explicit strategy instruction as effective in helping all students learn (and remember) their basic math facts (e.g.,Baroody, et al., 2009; Baroody, et al., 2016; Thornton, 1978; Fuson, 1992; Rathmell, 1978; Thornton & Toohey, 1984).
- John A. Van de Walle, Karen S. Karp & Jennifer Bay-Williams
In Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally, 2019