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Mulitplication every day for 4 chlidren in different grades


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Okay so for two weeks, I will have 7 children to homeschool. I need some ideas for them to work on multiplication tables during that time.

 

Currently, I spend 15mins or so each day, separately with my own three children, working on the tables using Math Mammoth. I am seeing great success and don't want to loose momentum. However, I don't know what level the other children are at.

 

I will have a child in each of these grades: 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd and two in 1st (and a pre-schooler). I don't know what the others are up in their maths, and I don't have time to spend 15mins with each child just to do tables with them. Its mainly the older 4 that I want to keep their skills up during this time.

 

One idea I thought was to have them fill in a multiplication table, maybe spend a few minutes each day filling that in - that sounds boring to me though.

 

How else can I teach or have them continue learning multiplication, across four grades, all at the same time?

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I have a app that drills my boys on the four basic operations. 

 

They can select a level; easy, medium, hard, Jason (As in Jason math genius from the Foxtrot comics)

Then they select one or more operations; addition, subtraction, multiplication, division

 

They both have different goals, but they have to play 4 times. Each time involves getting 10 questions answered correctly. 

 

This way the math drill is out of my hands and leaves me for other fun and exciting problems such as negative exponents. :)

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XtraMath!!! xtramath.org  It's free.  I have my children use it almost every day.  It's strictly drill and practice - no flashy games and such, but it works.  Once they "pass" you can print out a certificate for them.  Do the children like to play on the computer?  Tell them they cannot play until they have done all of their XtraMath for the day - that means that they have to get to where the program states that they are done for the day.

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Love the games idea for a group of kids with different levels. I have Multiplication Yahtzee and Multiplication Bingo printables on my blog. Multiplication War is a great, simple game that gives kids a ton of practice: each kid turns over two cards, and whoever has the higher product wins the cards. You can customize the difficulty by only including certain numbers in the decks (i.e., make it easier by only including 1-5, or make it more difficult with only 6-9).   

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Have you thought about making a multiplication clock? I did that with DS1 and it was kind of fun and different.  Or you can just color in a table you make yourself.

 

For the 1st graders, "Sum Swamp" or "Go to the Dump" are fun games.

 

For multiplication, my kids love "Multiplication War".  We bought the deck on Amazon for like $3.

 

You can also do stuff like toss a ball or bean bag as they skip count.

 

 

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Agreeing to outsource to an electronic device.  :-)  

 

With xtramath, each kid would have about 7 minutes of drill.  It is boring, but it gets done.  You the teacher have access to their results, which facts they are working on, which they have mastered, etc.

 

 

For WAY less boring, I would go with xgerms multiplication from K12.  There is a free app, or there is a website version.  This does not have a set end-point timer, so you would need each child to set a timer for himself for 7-8 minutes or whatever you'd like.  You also can see the multiplication table and how they are doing on each particular fact.  There is also an addition version for the first grader.  My first grader loves it.  

 

If you have enough "devices" (between phone, iPad, computer, etc.) you may be able to get everyone on facts at once except one or two kids, and focus on those kids for a particular subject.  

 

 

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Step 1:  Sign up for free xtra math accounts for every child 

Step 2:  Ask kids to do xtra math everyday...a few minutes every day REALLY adds up.

 

 

DONE!  :)

 

If they don't like xtra math, the free version of Timez Attack is also very effective and fun.  

 

Ive also found that for most kids, you need to modify the settings in xtra math to "6 second multiplication".   Most kids (unless they are really savy on electronic devices) have trouble typing the answer in within 3 seconds.  (The default.)   So they have a lot less frustration if they are given 6 seconds.    I have also found that it is really hard to get a perfect 100% in xtra math.  I have found that a high percentage equates in a pretty fast recall of math facts.  

 

Finally, if you find that they aren't making much progress with xtra math....a little bribery goes a long way.   I told the kids that if they can get at least an 86% on their math facts, they would get a surprise.  That really motivated them to be less passive and try hard.   It is something they usually work at for many months, so I feel good about letting them earn a reward. 

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You can do timed drills with all of them at the same time. Even the younger kids can do add/sub if they aren't doing multi yet. My older two use old fashioned flash cards with each other taking turns drilling. I've used some apps and computer programs that have been mentioned but I'm moving back towards flash cards, recitation and timed written tests. 

 

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