If want to drill multiplication math facts, this game is one of my favorite ways to practice.
Many parents remember struggling to learn math. We hope to provide a better experience for our children. And one of the best ways for children to enjoy learning is through hands-on play.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s play some math!
Math Concepts: multiplication facts, times tables.
Players: any number.
Equipment: pencil and paper, optional printed blank hundred chart.
Photo of Lex times 11, by Dan DeChiaro, via flickr.
We are finishing up an experiment in mental math, using the world’s oldest interactive game — conversation — to explore multiplication patterns while memorizing as little as possible.
Take your time to fix each of these patterns in mind. Ask questions of your student, and let her quiz you, too. Discuss a variety of ways to find each answer. Use the card game Once Through the Deck (explained in part 3)as a quick method to test your memory. When you feel comfortable with each number pattern, when you are able to apply it to most of the numbers you and your child can think of, then mark off that row and column on your times table chart.
So far, we have studied the times-1 and times-10 families and the Commutative Property (that you can multiply numbers in any order). Then we memorized the doubles and mastered the facts built on them. And then last time we worked on the square numbers and their next-door neighbors.
Photo of Miss Karen (and computer) times 3, by Karen, via flickr.
If you remember, we are in the middle of an experiment in mental math. We are using the world’s oldest interactive game — conversation — to explore multiplication patterns while memorizing as little as possible. So far, we have studied the times-1 and times-10 families and the Commutative Property (that you can multiply numbers in any order). Then we memorized the doubles and mastered the facts built on them.
Photo of Javier times 4, by Javier Ignacio Acuña Ditzel, via flickr.
If you remember, we are in the middle of an experiment in mental math. We are using the world’s oldest interactive game — conversation — to explore multiplication patterns while memorizing as little as possible. Talk through these patterns with your student. Work many, many, many oral math problems together. Discuss the different ways you can find each answer, and notice how the number patterns connect to each other.
So far, we have mastered the times-1 and times-10 families and the Commutative Property (that you can multiply numbers in any order).
Photo of Eeva times 6, by Eric Horst, via flickr.
The question is common on parenting forums:
My daughter is in 4th grade. She has been studying multiplication in school for nearly a year, but she still stumbles over the facts and counts on her fingers. How can I help her?
Many people resort to flashcards and worksheets in such situations, and computer games that flash the math facts are quite popular with parents. I recommend a different approach: Challenge your student to a joint experiment in mental math. Over the next two months, without flashcards or memory drill, how many math facts can the two of you learn together?
We will use the world’s oldest interactive game — conversation — to explore multiplication patterns while memorizing as little as possible.
Photo of Evil Erin times 5 (and dog times 2), via flickr.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for any middle-elementary math student is to master the multiplication facts. It can seem like an unending task to memorize so many facts and be able to pull them out of mental storage in any order on demand. Too often, the rote aspect of such memory work overwhelms students, eclipsing their view of the principles behind the math. Yet rote memory is not enough: A student may be able to recite the times tables perfectly and still be reduced to counting on fingers in the middle of a long division problem.
We will use the world’s oldest interactive game — conversation — to learn the multiplication facts one bite at a time. But first, let’s take some time to think about what multiplication really means.
Photo by jetheriot.
One of the most common math questions on homeschooling discussion forums is, “How can I help my child master the math facts?” Unfortunately, when it comes to drilling facts, many children think math is spelled “B-O-R-I-N-G.” Worksheets are tedious, flash cards make them groan, and even the latest computer game is a yawner.
Denise Gaskins' Let's Play Math 