Times tables – tears and tantrums or learning with laughter?
It is surely every parent’s worst nightmare - helping their
lower school child to learn the times tables! However we
know that we must persevere because knowing the basic
number facts is the foundation to operating with numbers.
The good news is that by using a strategy-based approach
to learning times tables, we can unlock the patterns in
different table sets and thereby support learning through
understanding e.g. learning that the 2x, 4x, 6x, 8x and
10x facts are all even.
Early on, a child needs to understand what the concept of multiplication is all
about – i.e. the grouping of sets, repeated addition, a faster way of adding. You
can help your child by: using an assortment of manipulatives to count and group,
by skip counting, by forming arrays etc. Support your child in discovering the
patterns in the numbers by using a 100s chart (you can find and download one
quickly from the www e.g. illuminations.nctm.org/lessons/HundredsChart.pdf.
Eventually there comes a time when the importance of rapid recall becomes the
focus. Continue to support your child in a fun way. Play games on the iPad,
iPhone, board games like Multiplication Bingo, online interactive games etc. Make
or buy a set of times table’s flash cards and encourage your child to practice with
you through meaningful learning and understanding. Rapid, accurate recall of the
times tables won’t happen overnight but, with lots of positive support,
encouragement and understanding, it will happen.
Consider the type of learner that your child is when deciding how to help them
learn their multiplication tables. If they are an auditory learner, you may wish to
purchase or download a times tables CD so that your child can learn the times
tables through songs or Raps. If your child is a visual learner, purchase or make
flashcards to help them. If you child is a kinesthetic learner throw a Koosh ball to
and fro as they say their tables aloud.
There is a lot of discussion and debate about rote learning vs. meaningful
learning. Rote memorization is a term for fixing information in your memory
through repetition. On the other hand meaningful learning involves students in
the learning process and includes thinking, doing and making connections.
Following the IB PYP philosophy, we support a meaningful approach to learning
and teaching the times tables.
So what are some of the times tables patterns?
Doubles: Learning to multiply by two is easy when your child is reminded of his
“doubles” addition facts. Multiplying any number by two is the same thing as
adding it to itself.
Zero: Sometimes your child may have a hard time understanding why a number
multiplied by zero is always zero. Reminding him/her that what is being asked is
to show “zero groups of [whatever number]” can help him see that no groups
equals nothing.
Fives: Most children know how to skip count by five. What they are actually
doing is multiplying by five. Using a place holder (fingers work well) to keep track
of how many times s/he’s counted, your child can automatically multiply by five.
Tens: Multiplying by ten is essentially moving the digit over a place and adding 0
to the end of the number e.g. 5 x 10 = 50. It is important that your child
understands why this is so.
Elevens: When multiplying 11 by a single digit, your child should see a pattern
i.e. that the digit occurs in the tens and ones place (11 x 3 = 33)
Fours: Four times anything can be thought of as “doubling the doubles.” For
example, 2 x 3 is the same as doubling three or 6. Using that as a base strategy,
4 x 3 is simply a matter of doubling the double or 3 + 3 = 6 (the double) and 6 +
6 = 12 (the double doubled).
Nines (finger method): Have your child put his hands out in front of him. The
fingers on the left hand are numbers 1 through 5; the right hand is 6 through 10.
For the problem 9 x 2, he would bend down his second finger. The number of
fingers to the left of the bent down finger is the number in the tens place and the
number of fingers to the right of the bent finger is the ones place. Thus, 9 x 2 =
one finger on the left and eight on the right or 18.
Nines (adds to 9 method): Have your child subtract 1 from the number he is
multiplying by. So, for 9 x 4 he would get 3, which he puts in the tens place. Now
he sets up an addition problem to find out what adds to that to make nine,
putting that in the ones place. 3 + 6 = 9, so 9 x 4 = 36.
References:
http://www.multiplication.com/teach/teach-the-times-tables
http://www.kidspot.com.au/schoolzone/Teaching-tricks-Multiplicationfacts+4252+316+article.htm
Mrs. Ellen Manson (M.Ed; B.Ed; Dip Tchng)
Lower School Mathematics Specialist