# Teaching Multiplication....



## Cara (May 9, 2002)

to a child who is reluctant, even afraid, to learn it. 

I need help. I am helping to teach a little boy who is in age between my younger daughters and in ability somewhere around second grade (he should be fourth.) We have finally got to where he can carry and borrow and I know the next step is multiplication but he is really putting on the breaks. He is different than my children....we just plowed through the R&S third grade book, going as slow as necessary to master. By the end of my youngest's second grade year, she had them all down and we started with Saxon 54. I am starting to think we'll never get there with his guy. I think I need another way to teach him that multiply and divide are not that hard and very important. Do any of you have any ideas?


----------



## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

They learned the first sets (1, 2, 3, 5 & 10) by learning to skip count. ('s are easy, 6's there is a rhyming trick. That just leaves 7x6 & 7x7 & 8x7. Try the skip counting for 2's & see how it goes.


----------



## Still Learning (Dec 5, 2006)

I am about in the same boat Cara. My DS is 3rd grade and knows the easier numbers well (1,2,3,5,10,11) but he gets so frustrated with learning the rest of them. --> He just gives up and says "I'm a failure!". 

I'm looking forward to your responses. Best of luck to you! 

~Ashley


----------



## annethcz (Sep 25, 2004)

When my oldest was learning multiplication I never used the work 'multiplication.' We just talked about groups, mostly using real life examples. 4 pencils in a package and we're buying 6 packages... how many pencils do we have? That sort of thing.

Playing with manipulatives and expecially cuisinaire rods really helped.


----------



## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

9 rule - ( x a number is the number -1 (9x8 One number less than 8 is 7) Then 7 + what is 9 (7+2 =9) 72 is your answer.

6 rule 
6x2 = 12 Then it rhymes
6x4=24
6x6=36
6x8=48


----------



## Cara (May 9, 2002)

I had the rods once, hand me downs, but I didn't really know how to use them. Maybe I need to dig them out. I'm not sure the concept is going to soak in because even borrowing isn't clicking completely. Mostly if something doesn't come so automatically he says "HATE THIS!" Not something I allowed mine to say, so we're retraining that out. I'll let you know how it goes!


----------



## MorningGlory (Feb 20, 2008)

Try this for the 6 thru 9 tables. It really, really works well! I'm buying it for my son, because I know people who have used it, and their kids learned them in about 3 days. 

http://www.timestales.com/


----------



## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

I realize this thread is old, but as a grade school teacher I wanted to pipe up with what has worked for me. 
Like anne, I'm a big one for manipulatives. memorization is pointless if kids don't understand why it works in the first place. 

Consequently, since multiplication is just a short cut for addition, I just have them add.

Don't know what 6x7 is? Fine, add seven to itself six times. (Ie, six sets of sevens). With some kids this'll take longer, obviously, but they'll get to the point that they just automatically memorize because it's such a pain in the neck to keep adding it up!


BTW, anytime you can introduce "older" concepts to younger kids, jump on it and make a big deal out of what they're learning.
For example, both of my kids learned multiplication around preschool/kindergarten. They already knew how to add simple stuff (5+5, 2+2, etc), so it wasn't much of a stretch to do 2x5, 2x2, 2x3. 
Draw pictures or have things that you can group. When kids are real young, they'll just count everything up, but that part doesn't matter. Make a big deal out of how smart they are that they're doing _multiplication_! (And don't forget to _divide_ that total back into groups while you're at it)

I do the same thing with algebra. 
4+__=8. What goes in the blank? How about if I write it like this--5+?=8
What is the -?- Oooh, oooh! What if I do this-- 4+X=12 What is the X?

Boy, algebra is just way too easy, isn't it?


And so on and so forth. I truly think half of the trouble people have with math is simply due to psyching ourselves out...


----------



## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

Still love math it (the game). my 2nd grader knows all of his addition and multiplication facts by heart. 

Cindyc.


----------



## Terri (May 10, 2002)

I taught mine to multiply with M&M's. 3x3 is the same as 3 M&M's + 3M&M's + 3M&M's.

Of course you eat the candy while you work!

I would not be honest if I said he liked the lessons, but he did not DISLIKE them!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Cara (May 9, 2002)

Yesterday I had him fill out the table. That showed my daughter how little she really had left to memorize, because by the time she filled in all she already knew, there were very few spaces. With him, he filled in way more than we had covered by counting up. He just gets so aggravated if he doesn't automatically know everything! 

Erin, thanks for the help. I'll just continue to have him count up and it'll come!

You guys are all great...I'm so glad to be able to ask a question and get lots of good suggestions.


----------

