During my practicum within a grade 8 classroom, my associate
teacher spent many lessons at the beginning of the year going over the process
of multiplication and times tables with the class. She would say that students
are so used to having a calculator to complete math questions that they simply
do not know their multiplication tables. She was teaching them a variety of tricks
and showing them many videos to try and teach them basic multiplication
techniques and rules. In order for the students to practice multiplication she
would print off “Multi-Square Multiplication Worksheets”. Each worksheet
contains 15 square puzzles and students must fill in each square with correct
numbers that when multiplied together give the products on the right side and
bottom. Worksheets are available to practices the multiplications of ones up to
the multiplication of nines in order to cater to each student’s current level. In
this class, students were able to complete the worksheet and then give it to a friend
in order to determine if the answers were correct. As students must know and be confident in their multiplication skills in order to succeed in the intermediate levels of mathematics, these worksheets serve as a great resource to ensure students are able to practice these basic skills before continuing on with more complex math concepts.
Here’s the link:
Hello Jessica,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post, and the link to those worksheets. I agree, that teaching students to memorize basic multiplication definitely has a place. I know that personally "in the real world" I come across situations all the time in which I need to use knowledge of the basic times tables. I would venture to guess that it is one of the most common mathematical happenings in my day-to-day life.
I also like the worksheets provided. It looks like a great way to practice this skill without just doing the same old repetitive practice. I think the little tips and tricks we can pass on to our students are great. I still remember many of the tips and tricks that my teachers taught me when I was learning my times tables. They have been great placemarkers to help me always remember those basic times tables even if I haven't had to use some of them in a while. Great post!
-Jamie