Memorizing Multiplication Facts; Teaching Your Child Multiplication

Memorizing multiplication facts is an important skill your child will be introduced to starting as early as second grade. It will be heavily focused on in third grade and by fourth grade, your child's teacher will expect the skill to be mastered. Your child's success in learning the multiplication facts will determine his or her success in mastering numerous other math skills, including working with fractions and algebra.

When I learned my multiplication facts, I did so by writing my times tables over and over again until I had them memorized. That was the only method of instruction used in my school days. It worked, but these days children have a lot more strategies available to them.

Strategies for Teaching Multiplication Facts

#1-Use Flash Cards-Having your child practice multiplication factsusing flash cards is a quick and easy method of skill review. Kids can practice the flash cards independently or with the help of someone else. The frequent review of multiplication problems will reinforce this skill for your child.

#2-Play with 12 Sided Dice-This may seem like a strange strategy, but it works. You turn practicing multiplication facts into a game using the dice. You will want to find two 12 sided dice. They can be found in a gaming store or on-line. Once your child has the dice, a pencil, and a piece of paper, he or she can start playing. You roll the dice and multiply the numbers facing up. For example, if you roll the dice and a 3 and a 4 face up, you write 3 times 4 equals 12 on your paper. You can have your child do ten to twenty problems at a time for practice. If you want to start out easier, use 3 sided, 4 sided, 5 sided dice, etc.

#3-Incorporate Math Movies and Math Music-There are songs and entire cds that help children learn their multiplication facts such as Multiplication Rock and Multiplication Rap. The songs are a little silly, but whatever works, right? There are also movies that help children learn their multiplication facts including School House Rock . This DVD takes children through a series of songs that teach children some helpful tricks or tips that can be used to make multiplication easier.

Make Learning Fun

Children have different learning styles. You don't want them to get bored or frustrated memorizing multiplication facts. In addition to the three strategies I've already mentioned, there are other ways to support your child's learning. Math games and educational websites just to name a few. Multiplication facts take time to learn. Practice with your child a little bit each day and you'll see success in no time!