times tables?

[sleepies]

anyone here have a good idea on how to teach the times tables to my son.

he goes to public school

they are doing a great job

but i want to also work with my son at home

how do you re-enforce school work? and do you have any tricks to learn times tables more easily?

he seems to have troubles with the 9x

such as 9x7=63

any websites or anything that helps you teach it?

i dont know how i was taught. i forgot! LOL

[Britishmum]

Using music can be a great way, but you also need lots of practical experience to make it meaningful. You can buy CDs of times tables to music, and children absorb them easily, and it's fun!

[Bella's Mama]

Here's a trick for learning "nines"
Put both of your hands on a table side by side. Let's take 9x4 as an example, bend your fourth finger (bend it at the joint) on your left hand down. Do you see three fingers to the left of the bent one, and six fingers to the right of the bent one? That stands for thirty-six! Get it?

[papabliss]

Hi,

The 9s should be the second easiest to learn since the only new numbers to multiply are 9x9 and 9x10. All the rest have been covered with the other numbers.

I think practice might be better served working on the ordering of the operation. What I mean is that it important to learn that 7x9 and 9x7 are the same thing so if he/she knows one, then they know the other.

The only easier number to learn is the 10s because then there is only 10x10 to learn.

Hope this helps.

[dfoy]

I have a variation of Bella's Mama's trick. This has always worked for my special ed students having trouble with math.

9 x 4
Take 1 away from the # on the right
(3)
Subtract 3 from 9
(9 - 3 = 6)
36 is your answer

9 x 7
Take 1 away from the # on the right
(6)
Subtract 6 from 9
(9 - 6 = 3)
63 is your answer

9 x 9
Take 1 away from the # on the right
(8)
Subtract 8 from 9
(9 - 8 =1)
81 is your answer.

This also reinforces the subtraction skills they have previously learned.

[Alexander]

How old is your son?

Most of the replies so far deal with rather slow manipulatives.

What do yu want exactly? If it is to just "know" the answers, then songs and non-stop chants everyday for a month will do it.

I question the whole business of teaching this stuff though, but guess you already know that ;)

Hope this helps

a

[Britishmum]

Just to clarify what I said about using music to learn the times tables, it will help the child to simply 'know' the answers, as Alexander says. But lots of practical application is needed in addition to ensure real understanding. Everyday life gives lots of chances to practice - setting tables, working out recipes, silly games like working out how many legs three dogs have between them......

Just as a toddler will join in the 'abc' song, yet not understand its meaning fully until he or she is becoming literate. Learning it is fun, and gradually the meaning becomes clear. Music is a wonderful and rewarding vehicle for learning.

Personally, I think that there is a place for learning times tables as long as it is done in a fun way. Once a child 'knows' their tables they can compute more rapidly and with greater mental agility. But you need to tackle both aspects at once - the 'knowing' and the understanding, as without understanding, they are useless!

[Jish]

When I was an education major I had a great math methods class which dealt with all this. The teacher was great, now if only I could find my old notes...

As for the nines, I have another trick.

Ex: 9x7

The first number will always be one number less than the number you are multiplying with the nine, in this case one less than seven is six. Once they have that, the rest is just as easy. Simply subtract the second number from ten and that is the second number -- 3. Thus the answer is 63. I have a terrible time remembering the multiplication tables and I still use this trick. I'm going to look for all my old notes, and if I find them, I'll pm you with anything I think might help. I wish I would have been taught the way that prof. taught us to teach. I might not have all the issues with math that I do today if I had. I think he has put out a book, possibly a text, if I can find my stuff I'll give you his name and you can check it out.

[Bella's Mama]

I'm curious, why do you "question the whole business of teaching this stuff"? I am against teachers having kids do pages of the same type of problem, because if they can do 10, then they don't need to waste their time doin' 100 of them, but I think the concept of basic math facts are important. Can you elaborate on your opinion?

[Alexander]

We are beginning to get a grip of it here (http://mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?s=&postid=37287)

a

[k'smami]

That was really interesting JW. Thanks. :)

[Jish]

Notice that each two digits next to each other adds up to 9. So if the child starts at 9 (which equals nought) the next figure will be 1 and the number that adds up to 9 is 8 = 18. The next one down is 2 so to make the total of 9 you need 7. 27...36...45...54...everything adds up to 9

That was one of the ways we were taught to help kids check their work in my math methods class, but I didn't remember until I saw it in your post.

I too have always thought that the nines were easy because you simply added a zero and subtracted itself

ie: 9x7
7 to 70 -- then minus the 7
70 - 7 = 63.

Unfortunately, I have a terrible memory and many of the tables have been buried in my brain. Thankfully, I don't have much of a use for them at this time. That will change all to soon as my sons get older.

[lilyka]

Leap frog makes some pretty cool electronic games that help with memorization. They are called twist and shout. Since they are games that respond to your voice they have appeal to kids (I know you won't be offended by that sleepies :) ) You can use them on thier own or hoook them up to the internet for more options. They also have a spelling one where you can add thier speeling list from school.

[Alexander]

Channel 4 in the UK did a long puppet series on arithmetic called "The Number Crew". It's fun, logical, and in 10 minute bite sized chunks. The Video might even be available. I seem to remember that they have a fan club, and can be found on the Channel 4 web site.

Hope this helps.

a

[3girls1boy]

My oldest is in 4th grade and still doesn't have the multiplication tables down pat yet either.

Her school has a new math program which is supposed to stress concepts over memorization, but there are just some things that have to be memorized. Once one knows the tables, doing longer multiplication problems goes much faster. Can you imagine having to multiply 273 X 26, if you didn't know straight off that 6 X 3 is 18? Definitely slows one down.

Anyway, we have these things called "Wrap-ups" which I got from the Chinaberry Book catalog. Each "wrap-up" is a notched piece of plastic with 1-12 randomly written along one side and the "X some number" in the middle and then the answers on the other. You wrap this attached string from the left hand numbers over to the correct answers. When you finish and turn over the piece, there are lines which your string will run along if you've answered correctly. (It's hard to describe this) But it's good because it add a tactile element to the memorization.

[sleepies]

THANK YOU EVERYONE

He is doing SOOOO Much better.

We need to keep practicing to keep it fresh in his mind, but he is going to do fantastic in his report card....his state tests,...and life in general i believe

THANKS for the tips! They actually helped ME too!

[crazydiamond]

Check out MemoryJoggers.com. I use this program with my 4-6 graders and it works fabulously with the "hard"ones of which you are speaking.

KD:love