Teach Your Child the Multiplication Tables – 2nd Edition
Like most third graders, my son found learning the multiplication tables through rote memorization a challenge. After an afternoon of tiresome drills, I knew there had to be a better way!
I drew a grid for tables 1-10. Not surprisingly, Scott knew tables 1, 2, 5 and 10, the tables with easy patterns. Well, then, why not find patterns for the rest of the tables? Tables for EVEN numbers 2, 4, 6 and 8, we discovered, end in some combination of 2-4-6-8-0 and are easy to learn. Tables for ODD numbers, we found, also have distinct patterns. Patterns made Scott smile. He could see the underlying structure and knew he got it right.
The traditional method of learning one math fact at a time, such as 8 x 6 = ?, is not only difficult but highly inefficient. Rote memorization is passive and mechanical. Students typically find it boring. Why not learn one pattern for the entire table? Discovering patterns is active, creative and engaging. The essence of mathematics is patterns. Learning to recognize patterns at an early age develops analytical skills.
Patterns greatly benefit children with special needs, such as those with ADD/ADHD, autism and dyslexia. They can better recall and visualize the table when they see a pattern. This is true for all children. Patterns aid recall.
My workbook utilizes both left and right-brain strategies to teach multiplication. There are marked differences between children who are left-hemisphere dominant and those who are right dominant. Whereas the left-hemisphere dominant child can construct the whole from the parts, the right dominant prefers the big picture, seeing patterns and making connections. Special needs children are often right-brain dominant. Learning the multiplication tables is much easier when both hemispheres are engaged.
It is the responsibility of parents and teachers to ensure children learn the multiplication tables. Without them a child will not progress beyond third grade math. Fractions, decimals, percentages and algebra will be beyond a child’s reach. In California, the number one reason students do not graduate from high school is failure to pass algebra. A leading cause is: failure to master the times tables! It is a national disgrace that fifteen-year olds in the U.S. rank near the bottom of industrialized nations in math skills. We must reverse this alarming trend. The time to intervene is in the third grade.
Teachers, why not a more effective approach to the multiplication tables than the “drill and kill” of rote memorization? Why not bring the “magic” of math into the classroom? If all third graders were to genuinely like math, they would be more likely to succeed in school.
Parents too must do their part. Parents have a huge influence over a third grader. By high school it may be too late. Mastery of the multiplication tables is essential to your child’s future.
The goal of this workbook is not only multiplication mastery for all children but to instill in them a love of numbers and fascination with math. Free instructional TeaCHildMath™ videos can be found on YouTube.
Eugenia Francis spent fifteen years developing creative teaching methods. She has taught elementary, high school and university students (University California Irvine). Faced with the challenge of teaching her son multiplication, she developed her own innovative method, discovering amazing, easy-to-remember patterns to the multiplication tables. Teach Your Child the Multiplication Tables has been endorsed by top learning specialists. Her story, English instructor turned children’s math book writer, was featured in The Wall Street Journal.
