Fluency: Sprints in Eureka Math by Megan

Fluency: Sprints in Eureka Math

What is "fluency" in terms of mathematics? And what is the purpose? Eureka Math explains fluency in such a relevant way in that fluency is NOT only memorization of rote math facts, but rather, the ability of students to be able to quickly and accurately compute simple calculations through having a deepened understanding of number sense.  Fluency in each grade level involves a mixture of just knowing some answers (memorization), knowing some answers from patterns, and knowing some answers through the use of strategies and having developed strong mathematical reasoning skills through the understanding of number sense.

I'm going to dive into one important Fluency Component of Eureka Math, the Sprints, and show you the purpose, the benefit, what it looks like, and how YOU can implement this structure RIGHT away!

Sprint activities in Eureka Math
"Sprints support automaticity so that students can use their mental energies for more complex problems.  They allow students to see their own improvement on that path to automaticity, which is motivating. The form of delivery directly supports Sprints' primary functions." - Eureka Math


The Eureka Math Sprint activities are designed to develop and foster the growth in students' fluency skills.  They should be fun, adrenaline-rich activities that intentionally build energy and excitement.  A fast pace is essential.  During Sprint administration, teachers act sort of like coaches, in that they are guiding and cheering on their students to succeed!  An exciting routine fuels students' motivation to do their personal best.  Students' recognition of increasing success is critical, and so every improvement is celebrated. Eureka Math has carefully designed each Sprint activity in a well-sequenced structure that starts simple and progresses to very complex by the end of the Sprint page. The goal is never for students to complete all 44 problems, but rather to try their best and make growth/improvement on each set.  Thus, Sprints should NEVER be collected or graded!

One Sprint has 2 parts (Sprint A and Sprint B), with closely related problems (as seen pictured above).  Students complete both Sprint A and Sprint B in quick succession with the goal of improving on the second sprint, even if only by one more problem correct. With practice, the following routine should take about 9 minutes in total:

Directions for administering Sprints:

1)Sprint A: To start, distribute Sprint A face down on the students' desks.  You will want to read/discuss the directions briefly to ensure that all students understand the task.  Let them know they will have only 60 seconds to do their very best work. Students hold pencils up in the air until you give them a signal to begin.  Once you have given the signal, students flip the Sprint over and rigorously start working.

2)Correcting Answers: Once time is up, you tell them to stop and draw a line underneath the last problem they completed, then pencils down.  You will now let the students know that as you call out the answers, they are to respond with "yes!" if they answered it correctly; if it is incorrect, then they silently circle that number. You continue energetically calling out the answers at a fast rate (to keep the atmosphere exciting and engaging). Once you get to a number where no students are responding with "yes!" you stop calling out the answers and direct students to record their total number correct at the top of the paper (there is a designated spot for this). You will need to model or explain to them how to subtract any wrong answers from the total number they completed.

3)Cheers/Celebration: You will tell students that the number correct they have recorded at the top of their Sprint A is now their "personal goal" for Sprint B.  Then you'll recognize student achievement by starting with asking "Who got 1 correct?".  Then slowly increase the number until you find the last man standing! (student with the most correct).  Celebrate this student with a cheer of your choosing! Just to name a few that I use:
-FAAAAAANTASTIC cheer
-WOW Cheer                         -Clam Clap Cheer
-Truck Driver Cheer              -Cheese Grater Cheer
-Hot Pepper Cheer                 -Roller Coaster Cheer
-Lookin' Good Cheer             -Fire Cracker Cheer
-Give an "Air High Five"      -Silent Cheer ............. and sooo many many more to choose from! 

**After administering Sprint A, you ALWAYS want to have the students discuss with an elbow partner or teammates what patterns they saw as they completed the sprint, what strategies they used, what parts were easy/hard. etc. This brief discussion often leads to further student success on Sprint B! Then you can give them an additional minute (untimed) to continue working through Sprint A for further practice/support.

4)Movement:  Now, to keep the high energy and fun of this activity, always do a stretch or movement activity in between the Sprints.  For example, you can do jumping jacks while skip counting by 3's for 1 minute. This will keep the students energized and pumped up to complete Sprint B. This is often followed by a slower paced movement activity, such as slowly skip counting to slow arm circle movements or neck rolls.  This helps keep them focused and ready to get back to business!

5) Sprint B: Now you will distribute Sprint B face down.  As mentioned above, it looks almost identical to Sprint A.  Only minor changes in the digits. Have students raise pencils in the air until you give them the signal to turn the paper over and begin! Again, you time them for 60 seconds. You repeat the exact same process of Sprint A to call out the answers, except this time the celebration will be different.

6)Final Celebration: This time after students have calculated their total correct and recorded it at the top of their paper, they also record their number of IMPROVEMENT from Sprint A to Sprint B.  Have all students stand who got 1 or more problems correct on Sprint B than on Sprint A. You  again slowly increase the number until only 1 student is left standing--- THIS time the cheer is given to that child to celebrate his/her "improvement" rather than the total number completed!

7) Debrief: You can again have students discuss the patterns and how they were able to achieve more success the second time around, etc.  You can then give them an additional minute to continue working on the Sprints if they need the practice and/or time permits.

Here's what a full Sprint lesson looks like from start to finish in my classroom! :-)

I can't even begin to tell you how OBSESSED my students are with this Sprint process! There is not a Sprint built into every Eureka Math lesson, as often times other fluency activities lend themselves better to certain lessons.  However, my kids look ahead and know EXACTLY at what lesson our next Sprint will be, and they will make sure I'm aware! (LOL)

I can also honestly say I have seen a HUGE improvement in my student's fluency with numbers and concepts as well as their self- confidence, largely in part due to these Eureka Math Sprints. So I highly encourage you to NEVER cut these out of your Eureka Math lessons, not only are they beneficial, but they are so so fun!

Collaboratively Learning,

Megan Brown

megan.brown@omsd.net