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Do you believe only about three weeks of focused practice can greatly improve your child's experience through all of middle school and high school math?
It's possible! Just invest the time to make sure your 3rd or 4th grade child knows the multiplication facts for numbers 0 - 12 very well.
As math gets harder in grades 5 - 12, it's not about speed and memorization. However, having those multiplication facts memorized will make division, fractions, and all those other problems with lots of steps so much easier!
Below are some suggestions to help with this.
1) Make sure the child knows why this matters.
1) Make sure the child knows why this matters.
It is important for the child to understand time spent on this now is saving them from years of frustration later.
You can reward them to encourage them, but don't forget that doing well in math can be its own reward! It can literally pay money later. We know from some studies that improving in math in elementary and middle school can actually pay off with higher yearly incomes later in life.
(I remind students of that when they say they should be paid for doing school work. It might take years, but eventually they will see the payoff! )
Also, setting goals and tracking progress can help motivate children. For all the activities below, set a goal with your child and write down progress, so he or she can see growth over time.
2) Start with what the child knows already.
2) Start with what the child knows already.
By the middle of 3rd grade, students at Columbiaville Elementary will have seen many strategies so they can understand multiplication. That's SO important! But besides understanding what it means, it's now time to memorize the basics. (If the facts are not memorized, problems take longer to do, and it's more likely students will get a wrong answer.)
Here are some things you can ask to find out what the child already knows and understands:
Thinking of multiplying as groups of numbers - Ask the child if he or she can tell you what a simple problem 3 x 4 means. The goal is not the answer, but to see if they know that it means "three groups of four".
Arrays - If you see something in rows and columns (like eggs in a carton, squares on a game board, seats in a room), ask if the child can figure out how many items are there without counting them all. (By multiplying the rows by columns.) You can also draw some arrays of boxes or circles and have the child use multiplication to find the total number.
Complete the Multiplication Table - Ask if your child can complete a certain row or column of a blank multiplication table. By doing a few every day, the whole thing can be completed in five days.
3) Practice being accurate and (somewhat) fast.
3) Practice being accurate and (somewhat) fast.
If your child knows some multiplication facts and understands what multiplication means, start working on memorizing that multiplication table they completed.
When practicing, the child should be able to answer correctly the first time within about three seconds. (It's okay to take time thinking about the answer, but the answer has to be accurate the first time for it to count! Close enough on multiplication doesn't help much in later math courses.)
Ways to practice:
Quiz them - Pick a number like 6. Quiz the child, asking every number times 6, but not necessarily in order. For example, 3 x 6, 8 x 6, 2 x 6, etc., until you've asked all numbers 0 - 12. Just quiz them on two or three numbers each day.
Flash Cards - Good old fashioned flash cards can still work! Have the child help make the flash cards, with a basic multiplication problem on one side and the answer on the back. Set a goal to get a certain number (like 15 cards) completely right each day. Encourage the child to keep the flash cards and practice with them on their own, whenever there is time.
Make It a Game - There are plenty of card and dice games described online that you can play. Competing with friends, siblings or even adults can be fun.
For example, if you have some 12-sided dice, the child can roll two and multiply them. They win a chip or get to move on the board if they get it right.
You can make pairs of cards and play the classic memory game. One card in a pair would have the problem on it, the other card would have the answer. Here's one site with some other ideas.
Online Practice - Be careful with this one! There are a lot of websites that claim to be helping with math, but they waste a lot of time with activities that distract.
SplashLearn is one site that has quality practice. You can sign up and try it for free. It has a small monthly fee after the trial. Remember, it might not take that long for your child to master the basic multiplicatin facts!
4) Return to the practice even after the facts are memorized.
4) Return to the practice even after the facts are memorized.
Just because we memorize something at one time, it doesn't mean it will stick with us forever. Encourage your child to review the multiplication facts with short quizzes or flash cards from time to time. This will especially be true if performance in math assignments and tests is low.
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