Helping Students Memorize Multiplication Facts

There comes a time when every elementary school student needs to overcome the feat of memorizing multiplication facts. This will take a lot of time to do. The easiest facts are usually memorized first followed by those that are more difficult. Fortunately, there are a lot of different ways in which you can go about doing this.

How To Decide Upon A Method For Memorizing Multiplication Facts

There are some things that you should take into consideration whenever you are deciding upon the best way for your child to memorize multiplication facts. While a lot of people seem to think you should just sit down and do it, this isn't going to work well. In fact, this is the reason why so many children rank poorly amongst other children in the world whenever it comes to math. So, whenever you are looking for a way in which to go about memorizing multiplication, you should look for a method that does the following.

It should be based upon understanding how multiplication works. While you want to demonstrate that multiplication is an extension of addition, you also want to show that this is not exact.

You will want it to develop a relationship between your child and the numbers he is working with. Help him to see that these numbers are familiar to him.

Make sure that it involves more than one of your child's senses. In other words, you don't want to just do worksheets, you will also want your child to hear them in order to lock them in his memory.

The method should also stress the understanding of the process instead of simply forcing a child to memorize these math facts.

Once you decide upon a method that you think will work for your child, make sure that you only focus on 1 table at a time. Make sure that your child understands it thoroughly before moving forward.

Use A Facts Chart

Instead of sitting your child down and forcing him to memorize the multiplication facts, give him a facts table. Have him look for some repeating patterns. These are as follows.

3 times 7 is the same as 7 times 3 (the commutative property or turn-around rule) Once your child sees this pattern he will realize that he only has to memorize half of the facts.

The 2s, 5s and 10s have an easy to memorize pattern that students probably have already learned through skip counting.

Teach your child to use his hands when working with the 9s. Herein you simply hold down the finger that matches the factor that you are memorizing. For instance, if you are doing 9 times 4, hold down your fourth finger, leaving a 3 in the tens position and a 6 in the ones. (9x4=36)

For the 8s, show your child how the tens will usually increase by 1 while the ones will usually decrease by 2. For instance, 2x8=16, 3x8=24 (1+1=2, 6-2=4).

Tell your child that 1 times any number is always that number (i.e. 1x2=2, 1x3=3).

As for 3, 4, 6 and 7, these will basically need to be memorized.

Use A Memory Game

Use a small number of pairs of cards to create a memory game. On one set of cards write the problem and write the solution on the second set. You can play this game until your child memorizes the problems with their answers before slowly adding new pairs in this same way. Most children will enjoy this game even though it will take them longer to learn their multiplication facts in this manner.

Music

Children who are musical will enjoy singing their multiplication tables. This can be done to your child's favorite tunes, simply substitute the lyrics with the multiplication facts. Each table can have its own song that you can record to listen to over and over again.

Flashcards

Some children will enjoy playing fun games with flashcards. You can use pre-made ones or make your own. Just keep in mind that these are only beneficial if your child understands the basics of multiplication and is familiar with a lot of different facts already.

In Conclusion

Memorizing multiplication facts doesn't have to be difficult. It can actually be a lot of fun. You simply need to find some ways that work for both you and your child. In doing so, this can be an easy process.