What's the best way to teach the multiplication tables?

Question

My daughter is 10 years old and having trouble with her multiplication tables, what have you found that worked?

Answer 1

Have her write them, use flashcards, computer games, written timed test, and recite out loud every day for aboout a month or so. Start with 1's-5's. Teach the tricks, 5's are multiple of 5. Next, teach the 10's, just add a zero to the multiplied number. Then teach the 11's, basically you double the number. Next the 12's. Then teach the 9's...whatever number is multiplied by 9 the answer adds up to 9 and the first digit in the answer is always one digit less than the number you are multipling by 9 (excluding 9x10, 9x11, & 9x12). But she'd would have already learned her 10's 11's and 12's.
9x1= 9 9x2=(1+8)=18 9x3=(2+7)=27 9x4=(3+6)=36
9x5=(4+5)=45
After she learns her 9's, she'll only have a few 6's 7's and 8's to learn because she would have learned just about all of them already.

Answer 2

Knowing that multiplication is repetitive addition is an essential skill for learning mathematics. I would start there. Work with having your child place objects into arrays. For example, use toy cars. Make 3 rows of 2, show how 3 + 3=6 and then explain 3 x 2 = 6, then make 2 rows of 3, explaining 2 x 3 = 6 also. Skip counting by 2's, 3's, 5's, etc... is also a good way to begin to understand multiplication. Good luck.

Answer 3

Use Flash cards and start at the beginning (1's) and work your way up. Then get the blank test sheets and give her timed tests. My teacher in 1-3 taught us this way so it's a matter of memorization. Eventually when you combine memorization with speed skills it comes naturally. Also there are some multiplication CD's on the market that sing out the answers in a cadence which is helpful.

Answer 4

Help her recognize patterns, for example:

x10 - always end in zero

x9 - the ten's place is always one short of the number you're multiplying by nine, and then the ones place is the difference between the number in the ten's place and 9.
(Example: 9x6 = 54; ten's place = 6-1, one's place = 9-5)

x5 - always ends in zero or 5. If the multiplier is even, divide by 2, and add a zero. If it's odd, add 1, then divide by 2 and add a 5 ( a little more complicated!)

Flash Cards are also a great learning tool.

Answer 5

Make a fill in the grid of the mulitplication tables and have her fill it in. You will be surprised at how few she probably needs to memorize. Most students have the ones, fives and tens down pat. Twos are easy to memorize, Nines are a matter of putting your ten fingers in front of you. curl your baby finger ( one) and you have nine left. curl your second finger (two) and you have the 1, which becomes a ten and eight fingers left (18) curl your third finger and you will have two fingers to the left 20 plus 7 = 27 this works for the entire set of nines. Once you know the multiplication facts she needs to memorize its a lot less daunting

Answer 6

Schoolhouse rock has a Multiplication Rock CD. IF she tends to remember songs, this may help her. I have found it to help many students.

Good luck.