Fast Facts - A Fun Multiplication Game

Subject: Multiplication - Grade Level: 3rd-4th grade - Objectives: Student memorizes multiplication facts, and can recall them quickly - Duration: 30-45 minutes

Materials/Handouts:
A deck of playing cards
A pencil
A piece of paper

Pre Requisites:
Students should be familiar with multiplication, and how to complete problems, perhaps have the facts memorized, but need help with recalling the answers quickly.

Vocabulary: multiplication, multiply, facts, product

Introduction:
Students will practice recalling multiplication facts by playing a quick card game in which they take turns laying down cards, and calling out the answers to ear points. The first to reach 100 points wins, and the game can start over with a new person challenging the winner each time.
This game is to be played with only two players. Groups of two can be made in a classroom setting.

Tasks:
1. Have students remove Kings, Queens, and Jacks from the deck

2. Have students deal the entire deck to each player, face down.

3. Players than at the same time, (possibly after an instructor says go each time) place one card, face up.

4. The player who knows the multiplication fact than calls out his or her answer.

5. If the answer is correct, the player takes those two cards and places them in his or her pile, and the scorekeeper writes down one point for each correct answer.

6. If the answer is in-correct the player who called out the wrong answer does not get a point, does not collect the cards for his or her pile.

7. The game can continue with flipping over the next card, the wrong answer could cause a subtraction of a point, or lose of a turn, or the game could simply continue.

8. The player that reaches 100 points first wins the game.

Assessment:
The assessment can be done in several ways. It can be completed by looking at the scoring sheet, and seeing how many points the student received and within a few times of playing through out the week, looking to see if the players score is increasing.

Another option for assessment could be to give the students a times multiplication test in which they are instructed to answer as many facts as possible within a certain time limit.

The time limit can be decreased over time, as well as set to the same and simply taken over and over and progress is noted based on the time it takes to complete the number of correct answers.