Multiplication tables?

[ExcitedMama]

Is there a fun way to help a child memorize their multiplication tables? Any fun apps? Or should I treat it as something just to be learned like grammar definitions in FLL?

[Sarah0000]

Times Tales

Multiplication.com

Mythematical Battles

Although what works best for my kid is teaching computation "shortcuts" and just practicing quicker computation.

[HomeAgain]

We like Multiplication War (the first one to say the product gets the cards), some of the Right Start games, Thinkin' Logs, the 60 Second Challenge, um...I cannot remember what else.  I've replaced cards in board games with division problems that have to be solved in order to move.

I've found it works best in our house just to do a few minutes at the beginning of each math lesson.  Play a quick game together and move on.  Eventually it sticks.

[Kiara.I]

Multiplication war is good. It can be fine either as first to say the product gets the cards or as a war game with the highest product taking both pairs.  I like Ring Around the Factors.

We tend to do memorization through use, rather than through "memorize this thing" drill.

[UnlikelyHomeschoolingMama]

My son learned his tables after spending 2 hours watching Times Tales.  They are in there and aren't coming out.  But his brain works that way.  

My daughter watched with him (already knowing her tables) and couldn't figure out how the stories worked.  She thought it was the dumbest and most frustrating thing she had ever watched.  

So my guess is you just have to try a bunch of things and see what sticks.  ? Because they sure are all different...even within the same family!  

[regentrude]

My DD learned them after making a poster to hang over her bed. 

[mytwomonkeys]

My kids used and loved Times Tales & Timez Attack (my son particularly loved the video game aspect of Timez Attack).

[Targhee]

My kids enjoyed the card games Mythmatical Battles and Earthquake.  They also did much better using a multiplication chart on challenging problems (vs drill) - after using the chart a lot they memorized them.  Some people do well with flash cards and drills, with my kids it backfired (they got worse, tense and it jammed up their recall).

[carrierocha]

Reflex Math worked well for one of my kids.

[silver]

I teach strategies (multiplying by four is the same as doubling twice; multiplying by five is the same as multiplying by ten and then taking half; etc). When they're first learning multiplication, I expect them to use the strategies to figure out problems (I will prompt a strategy, if needed). After they've memorized a good chunk just by use, I start to let them use a table if the math they are doing is heavy with multiplication but it isn't the focus (such as when doing long division).

My 3rd grader has most of the facts memorized now by doing this (with no drill). She does sometimes freeze up and can't remember a fact, and when this happens, I remind the strategy and then she can still do the math even with the brain freeze. 

[Momto6inIN]

XtraMath and an ice cream date with me and DH when each operation is complete is what has worked here ?

[Lori D.]

If you have a VSL (visual spatial learner), then traditional "drill and kill" often does not "click". Here are different strategies that often fit for these students:

- songs -- Schoolhouse Rock: Multiplication Rock; Skip Count Songs
- visual stories -- Times Tables the Fun Way, Times Tales book and/or DVD, etc. -- goofy stories and visual pictures make abstract facts stick in long term memory
- triangle flashcards -- free printable and instructions -- reduces math facts by 75%, as 3 numbers have a connection to make a "fact family" of 2 multiplication and 2 division facts, so when the student sees the triangle card with 7, 6, and 42 on it, automatically there is a visual connection that the 2 smaller numbers multiplied together make the larger number, and that the larger number when divided by one of the smaller numbers, results in the other smaller number
- memorization "tricks" --  The Facts, Gimme Just the Facts
- seeing a concrete need or use of math facts -- playing games that involved basic multiplication (Yahtzee, Muggins, etc.) helped practice once our VSL DS started to get some math facts down

Some students like computer games or apps for practice (some good ones shared by previous posters). However, they don't work for everyone -- my VSL student couldn't use these, even though he loved video/computer games, as the timed aspect, coupled with  the abstract nature of math facts, just made him melt down. So knowing your student helps a lot in picking resources to aid with math fact memorization.

[BetterthanIdeserve]

On ‎5‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 3:57 PM, Lori D. said:

If you have a VSL (visual spatial learner), then traditional "drill and kill" often does not "click". Here are different strategies that often fit for these students:

- songs -- Schoolhouse Rock: Multiplication Rock; Skip Count Songs
- visual stories -- Times Tables the Fun Way, Times Tales book and/or DVD, etc. -- goofy stories and visual pictures make abstract facts stick in long term memory
- triangle flashcards -- free printable and instructions -- reduces math facts by 75%, as 3 numbers have a connection to make a "fact family" of 2 multiplication and 2 division facts, so when the student sees the triangle card with 7, 6, and 42 on it, automatically there is a visual connection that the 2 smaller numbers multiplied together make the larger number, and that the larger number when divided by one of the smaller numbers, results in the other smaller number
- memorization "tricks" --  The Facts, Gimme Just the Facts
- seeing a concrete need or use of math facts -- playing games that involved basic multiplication (Yahtzee, Muggins, etc.) helped practice once our VSL DS started to get some math facts down

Some students like computer games or apps for practice (some good ones shared by previous posters). However, they don't work for everyone -- my VSL student couldn't use these, even though he loved video/computer games, as the timed aspect, coupled with  the abstract nature of math facts, just made him melt down. So knowing your student helps a lot in picking resources to aid with math fact memorization.

I think you've just explained my 10yo to me. Thank you!

[nixpix5]

I found that the only ones that my kids got stuck on were 3,6,7 and 8s since all the rest have memorable tricks and such. I found skip counting songs and using montessori beads and number arrows to learn skip counting helped tremendously. 

[Melissa in Australia]

one of my DS, when 9 broke his arm. He write the times tables on his cast so he could "cheat" at math. When he had his cast cut off he knew them all by heart.

 

My oldest ds could not remember his times tables at all. in the end I gave him a mini times tables chart. He was doing university level math at 16 with that times table chart. He knows them now. -( Aerospace engineer, top of his class on the dean list). He tells me I should have just taught him matrices as they are easier than times tables ( I don't know matrices)

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I agree to teach computation strategies as your MAIN vehicle for learning the multiplication table.  

 

Once they can compute quickly, use a game to speed them up even more.  My kids really like XGerms Multiplication, which is a free open-in-browser type game.

[macmacmoo]

Well Trained Mind just came out with a mulitplication fact mastery book. I just started it with eldest two weeks ago, wish it had been out last year when we started multiplication oh well. We really liked the addition book so it was a no brainer to get the multiplication one when it came out.

I also use Xtra math once they know it and just need to work on speed.