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Singapore 3A multiplication tables


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So, you're saying she hasn't studied 1-5 and 10? I think I would stop. The majority of the rest of 3A is more advanced multiplication and division. Very soon she will need to know all her facts to complete the lessons. I don't see any other way. We just finished 3A a couple of weeks ago.

 

(Wait, you mean she hasn't fully learned her facts, not that she hasn't studied them in previous SM books. I thought maybe you hopped over from another brand. I still think I would stop and work on them. The problems will take forever otherwise. She will soon be multiplying up to 4-digit numbers by one-digit numbers. That's four mini problems in one! Same way with division. If she's struggling with just a few, you could probably move on and review a bit before each new lesson, but if she doesn't really have them at all...)

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My DS9 used to fill out a multiplication chart as he can't recall fast. Soon he have the numbers all at his fingertips. He would have been bored stiff if we had waited for him to be proficient in math facts. Flash cards and math drills don't work for this kid.

 

So whatever works for your child.

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My DS9 used to fill out a multiplication chart as he can't recall fast. Soon he have the numbers all at his fingertips. He would have been bored stiff if we had waited for him to be proficient in math facts. Flash cards and math drills don't work for this kid.

 

So whatever works for your child.

 

Mine were similar. We'd practice facts for a few minutes at the start of math time, and then carry on with the curriculum. Eventually they were memorized, but I wouldn't have survived the mutiny if I'd made them drill facts for all of math until that point. In our case, it wouldn't even have been faster, because they're like me in that they have pretty much perfect short-term recall, but it takes longer for rote memorization to result in long-term memory for us. This way is much more effective for us, and much less boring.

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If your student was up to learning multiplication tables for 6, 7, 8 and 9, (we are using Singapore 3A) but still hadn't gotten a hold of the earlier ones, would you stop the workbook until they understood the earlier ones? Or would you just keep going?

 

We keep going.  The kids create a multiplication chart of their own, and can reference it whenever they need to (except when doing the mental math exercises).  When they are using the multiplication in the context of harder problems they get tired of using the chart, and eventually it's more of a pain to look it up than to recall it.  That may not work for everyone, but it's worked for my kids thus far.

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My DS9 used to fill out a multiplication chart as he can't recall fast. Soon he have the numbers all at his fingertips. He would have been bored stiff if we had waited for him to be proficient in math facts. Flash cards and math drills don't work for this kid.

 

So whatever works for your child.

Yes, this! I love the quote in the RightStart manual - "The only kids who enjoy using flashcards are the kids who don't need them."

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We use this time to skip around the text. Daily practice (usually fun stuff, but practice nonetheless), and then we'll cover the less computationally heavy geometry/graphing/fractions/units of measure topics. 

 

*Although* learning 6-9 will help reinforce 1-5 and 10 (because 4x8 and 8x4), so perhaps it's not the worst to continue?

 

My kids just get exhausted with the computation of arithmetic facts. They intuit the algorithms of more advanced math, but get stuck in the details. Really knowing their facts helped them move past the mental fatigue.

 

Cheat sheets are helpful, but I'm always afraid that I'll use it as a crutch and faith to ensure they really know their facts.

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We kept going and spent a few minutes each day. DH also made up a multiplication board game and played it at night with DS. We'll do the same for DD.

 

The torture of me making them "count by ___" each time they didn't know the fact seemed to be enough motivation. Bwaahaahaa...

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We are having a similar issue, so we are going to take a break for a couple of weeks and do Timez Attack. We will then go back and continue with the rest of the book, but make sure we do daily review of the multiplication facts with Timez Attack. I'm going to buy the full version and work on reinforcement of both the addition and subtraction facts. I know he doesn't have all of those down..and then go into division..

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We are having a similar issue, so we are going to take a break for a couple of weeks and do Timez Attack. We will then go back and continue with the rest of the book, but make sure we do daily review of the multiplication facts with Timez Attack. I'm going to buy the full version and work on reinforcement of both the addition and subtraction facts. I know he doesn't have all of those down..and then go into division..

 

Tip: If you have a Mac, even after you quit the application it keeps running in the background and hogging 99% of CPU. You have to go into the Activity Monitor to make it quit for real. Not sure about Windows, I never used it on there.

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