How To Teach P1 Multiplication

[amylqf]

Thanks, Dido, for your clarification.

[buds]

[Editor's note: Topic selected & edited for http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/diy-cards-and-other-tools-teching-multiplication.]


Teaching multiplication tables does not have to mean painful & agonizing
memorization and drills. Instead, you can teach a child logic that will help
them learn their multiplication tables very quickly.

If you've read my other postings with regards to working with multiplication,
I have shared a few concrete ways to introduce multiplication through play.
Click the link for details.

http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=128&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30

http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1748&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=60

http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1748&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=75

Montessori teachers are trained to work with our children from concrete
to abstract. And in the case of introducing Math to our children, our
classes have an extensive range of Montessori Math apparatus for
children to get hands-on practice with. Concrete activity helps to build
the logic and prepare children for the abstract. Touching, feeling and
counting are the sensory ways children can learn better before we
introduce the actual number theories and concepts. A good Montessori
teacher will guide children through the process of working with the
apparatus to better understand profound Math concepts and provide
opportunities for all children to have their hands on the materials.

Here are more tips and materials to share with all on other ways we can
work the multiplication tables to our kiddies, till they're rock solid!

Multiplication Cards - DIY

http://www.postimage.org/

Let your child make and design their own multiplication cards. Like i
always reiterate almost like a broken recorder - Children learn best
when they work with their hands, \"What goes through the hands...
goes to the mind.\"~Maria Montessori. This will also enable
your child to practice his or multiplication tables, while being creative.

What i did here with my girls is to use our modest collection of paper
punchers to create their own designs. We use one colour to code the
tables we're working with, like this yellow one is for learning the 3
Timestables and mebbe blue for 4 Timestables... (etc). Colour coding
will also make it easier for us to sort and keep our materials. Make 24
cards of each colour, in a size you most prefer to work with. First 12
cards being the concrete part with all the punched out shapes & another
12 for the tables itself ie. 3X1=3 and so on till 12.

You can use these DIY cards for reciting the tables, playing snap or if
you're into right-brain training, you can even decide to do the 1-sec
flashing too. DIY with thicker colour/construction paper if you're
not going to laminate them like mine. I thought since it's the girls' own
hard work into these self-made cards, i wud appreciate and preserve
their work by laminating them.. If you do not have a laminating machine,
you can get those laminating sheets with self adhesives to protect your
cards too.

Ok, i hear the other end of the room saying... Where got time....?
Well, lucky for you some good stores and bookshops carry numerous
teaching aides and games, if we have the time to look around. I have
here the Times Tables Snap from the good & creative people @ The Green
Board Game Company. They have great card games to promote fun
learning. I bought mine from Popular around $13.80 but it should also be
available at Growing Fun stores.

Times Tables Snap

http://www.postimage.org/

You can use these cards to play the usual snap with all the cards if
your child has mastered all the multiplication tables from 1 to 12. If
not however, do not fret. Cards are just the aides, we the humans
can choose to expand the aides in ways beneficial for our children to
work with.

As i have 2 girls of different age range and math abilities, to
accommodate a game in order for both of them to play, this is what i
did. I section the cards into only all the 2 Times Tables... cos so far that
is the only one she can manage fast enough to snap. Separate the
questions and the answers aside. Oops. Sorry, just noticed one question
card was pictured together with the answers. Yikes. Ignore that okie. :oops:

http://www.postimage.org/

Now, all question cards are to be faced down. Answer cards to distribute
evenly amongst players. In our case, there are 2 players. Answer cards
held by players also face down. I flip open the question cards on the mat
one question at a time.

http://www.postimage.org/

For the 1st question i flipped here ie. 2X12..... we wait for DD2 to come up
with the answer and then we begin to take turns to flip the answer cards,
until we reach the answer 24.... and winner for the question is the fastest
person to snap at the point the card with the number or the word 24 is
placed on the mat. I like the fact that this card also helps children to learn
the words to the numbers in their answer cards.

I never believe there is only one way to learn things, especially when it
comes to our own kiddies. My own daughters are both poles apart in their
characteristics, learning abilities, acquired taste in food, preferred games
and TV programmes and heck they both look different from each other 2!

So, i am always on the lookout for the good stuff when i'm out. I look for
different tools, teaching aides and books to benefit 2 different children.
Tho it can be time consuming, i enjoy the process and the experience of
helping my girls learn better in their own special ways..... their own special
learning abilities. While DD2 is fast and her memory is excellent, jie-jie
is the kind who takes time to process and digest stuff especially when it
comes to Maths concepts but i did observe she is one for Music! She can
hear a song a couple of times and voila! She suddenly can sing the whole
song just like that! So, on the scout i was to look if there were songs that
teaches Math concepts and boy, were there MANY! As with other stuff i get
i try to find the chance to peek in (for books)..... a chance to test (for food).....
and a chance to view or listen when it comes to DVDs and audio CDs.....
as much as possible. Though sometimes, I will cross into the paths
of not-so-flexible retailers. Cannot help it lah. Can't say i didn't try.. :lol:

Tables Songs Playtime

http://www.postimage.org/

Here's one audio CD on Times Tables which i find is ok. As with other CDs
there may be occasions where we may not like all the songs in an album..
*That's why a friend of mine said the iPhone has a no-brainer option of
pay for what you like from their massive range of songs, videos & movie
collections from Apple... So i just rate this one as ok. But the
accompanying Times Tables Playtime book is cute!

Here is a sample page for you guys!

http://www.postimage.org/

Want more...? Sure thing, buds has lots! Okay, one more set to share
with you guys. This is the Sing & Learn Times Tables book. Comes in a
Write & Wipe Activity Book + small black marker, Times Tables Poster
and Times Tables Champion Certificate + silver star stickers and an
audio CD by Don Spencer.

Sing & Learn Times Tables

http://www.postimage.org/

I contemplated to get this when i chanced upon it at one Times bookshop
outlet cos it was rather expensive for me @ $20+..... so i unwillingly put
the book down, but kept thinking about it. Not much info & perusal options
on Amazon either.. Sigh.. Thats one thing i dislike about high end book
stores, all wrapped up... no chance to see inside... expensive some more.
But thankfully my usual Popular haunt never disappoints! I grabbed
it eventually seeing it at a Popular roadshow event in one of the malls and
it was priced only @ $16.90! And that my friends, was before discount!
Woohoo! Good things comes to those who wait, they say.. And in my case
this was definitely worth the wait.

Want sample pages....? Here you go!

http://www.postimage.org/


http://www.postimage.org/


http://www.postimage.org/

Memorizing via songs brings the rote recitation to a new level, which
some children may find interesting and easier for them to absorb.

How about more written practise? Here's one way...
I have this whiteboard for multiplication practice purpose, which i so
love. It helps save paper wor... :lol: Again, this is one material one can
DIY. How? Just print the grids 12 by 12 using Microsoft Excel, laminate &
work it! No machine? Lazy to laminate? Mincy has provided us with a lazy
option too! Ok laaah, mincy... let's put it positively here aarhh... for BUSY
parents, mincy has a fantastic idea for me the last time when she bought
a clear file and simply insert papers in for ala board work for children.
And a fine idea at that too! Saves time! Thank you, mincy!

http://www.postimage.org/

This board i bought has the answer grids on the reverse side too.
Which you can also print for your child to self check.

Other than practise the usual way of writing all the answers down in
order, i also used this for speed practice. Once my girls have done the
in-order practices, i help them store the table memory by speed game.
We use stopwatch on handphone or watch for timing. We decide on which
tables to work with and i'll say out the tables in random order. The girls
will write down the answers till all the questions are done. I dunno about
how the typical person does it, but counting them in answer memory does
not exactly work for my girls cos 3,6,9,12 doesn't exactly assist them in
knowing quickly to which question these numbers answers belong to at a
glance. Not yet i suppose, cos they aren't fast enough.... yet. So,
using the speed game they are able to relate that when they write down
the answer for 9, it is the answer for question 3X3... and so on. The
multiplication songs help them in this aspect too. So far with practice
and motivation they've gotten faster in offering the answers. Phew!
A lot of time working on this wor... but worth it!

http://www.postimage.org/

Our main concerns as parents is to get our children motivated to get an
answer (often the biggest problem). It is not easy to make them
believe that being able to figure out the single digit multiplication facts
will make it easy to solve larger problems (otherwise problems like 751
times 35 look just look overwhelming). Be sure the child has practised a
variety of ways to solve the problem and found one they're comfortable
with.

Although the common way is to explain that these tables are actually
addition of common numbers, not all children find adding their way up
especially the bigger numbers very interesting.

It sometimes also comes down to the flexibility of the teacher. Is the
teacher concerned with the answer, or focused on method? If a kid gets
criticized for having to do something visual (like draw an array) or tactile
(like count on his fingers) to arrive at a math fact, that's a problem. And
if the teacher will only mark it correct if they use the traditional method,
it's probably time for the teacher to retire.... Ahakz!

But then again in local context, our children have a need to conform to
certain rules of Math concepts/techniques determined by the curriculum
or the syllabus. However it is also not entirely impossible for parents to
inspire the learning process at home. That's why there are help links
aplenty on the web too. Here's a creative one i like. Learning multiplication
from stories/picture charts! Quite cool!

http://www.postimage.org/

This site contains the techniques, tips, and secrets used by master teachers! http://www.multiplication.com/

Want more ideas? Can check out this website too. http://www.mathcats.com/grownupcats/ideabankmultiplication.html

If you're into using music to teach, you can try listening to some of
the Math songs they have here @ http://www.songsforteaching.com/index.html. They even have rap!

Hope these little bits of sharing helps. Psstt... buds has more! But will save
it for another post, aye! These few are already a lot to digest. Hope this
can give a headstart to parents who are just embarking on introducing the
multiplication tables to their children.

Cheerios.

:celebrate:

Learning should inspire, not perspire!

[Ivanlew]

Thanks bud for your info. I really appreciate that.

[buds]

Heyya IvanLew, you're most welcome!

More coming up!

[buds]

As promised, here's more...


Listen 'N' Learn Times Tables
http://www.postimage.org/

This is a unique and challenging game that encourages children to listen
attentively and match different multiplication puzzles corresponding pictures and learn tables 1 to 12.

http://www.postimage.org/

This box contained :
*4 colourful playboards (both sides) for 4 players
*1 audio CD >Track 1 : Tables 1 to 12 >Track 2 : Multiplication Game
*60 counters - 15 each of four colours

The objective is to identify and match answers of different multiplication
sums with the help of the corresponding sounds and pictures.

Child is to place a counter each time a new sum and sound is heard
on the audio CD. The first player to finish his/her counters in the correct
place is the winner. 5 seconds are allotted between sums on the tracks..
so if you feel this is insufficient for younger players, you can always push
the pause button between sums.

http://www.postimage.org/

[amylqf]

well, buds. Thanks for sharing. That’s a lot of effort you did for you child.

[buds]

You're welcome, amylqf.

Yes, it is a lot of work and
work is still in progress.
My DD1 is an average learner.
She is not the sort to grasp on
to concepts easily without fully
understanding them, especially
for Math. So, yah... i gotta work
harder to motivate her. It is also
great that she has a fantastic teacher
this year who truly inspires and motivates
her to keep improving without giving her so
much stress. I am very thankful for that.

[buds]

[Editor's note: Topic selected & edited for http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/ideas-teaching-multiplications.]


Maths is a very structured subject and also can be very abstract,
difficult to relate to in real life. The structure in Maths is useful in
that it is possible to spot patterns in the numbers and also to
sequence the learning that is to build step-wise through related
areas.

For example, counting is the foundation of number work and it is
impossible to move on to addition and subtraction before counting
and the knowledge of numbers are clear in a child's mind.

The advantage of Maths is that step-wise building can make learning
easy. The disadvantage is that the processes in Maths like multiplication,
do not readily translate into what happens in real life. For the
understanding of what a bus is in real life, an image of a bus comes
into the mind when the word is said. For many young children, the
image of 3X2 may not be as clear as to when it is presented like this.

http://www.postimage.org/

Moving from concrete to abstract
This means from learning using real-life objects and progressing on to
using number symbols. To cement the meanings of symbols, the real-
life representations can be left attached to numbers for a time, as sums
are completed or counting aids used like the number line.

http://www.postimage.org/

Isolating concepts
This refers to helping a child to understand better by making the idea
clear in the child's mind. This means that though interest in the subject
is of huge importance for motivation and concentration, interest material
should not be allowed to confuse a learner. For example, some books for
early learners fail because they allow supposed interest material to clutter
a page and obscure the principle that needs to be taught.

http://www.postimage.org/

Using a toy grasshopper or kangaroo, one can use it to hop along the
pebble-numbered line to make it more interesting. You may ask, \"How
many hops to get to 8?\" If you have the 100-square board/template, you
may ask the child to colour the numbers the grasshopper or kangaroo has
landed on...

http://www.postimage.org/

For readings and tips on more multiplication ideas, the neighbourhood
library would have this book entitled :- Help Your Child Learn the Times
Table For Your 5-7 Year Old Child (Parents' essentials) by Ken Adams.

http://www.postimage.org/

[buds]

Tables Songs Playtime


http://www.postimage.org/

Received some queries on the above.
I chanced upon it at Popular, came in
a plastic transparent box. Less than
$20 thereabouts... after discount.

[buds]

The Montessori Method has specific materials

to teach specific topics in Mathematics. Below
is the Multiplication Board used in Montessori
Mathematics.

Wooden boards that comes with 9 wooden
skittles, a set of number cards 1-10, 2 sets
of beads. Provides concrete experience of
Multiplication tables and division. \t

http://www.postimage.org/