Multiplication

This week we've begun learning multiplication.  So far, the children have focused on the meaning of multiplication, the reasons we use it, and the patterns that various multiplication facts form when skip counting. To compliment the activities that the students do in class, it is important that the students also learn to memorize their multiplication facts.

To help the children accomplish this, I am sending home each child with a set of multiplication flash cards.  Initially, each child is going to receive the 2, 3, & 5 facts.  I will send home the next set on Monday, and will continue to send home additional facts as the days go on. 

Students are expected to practice these facts with an adult for a minimum of ten minutes each evening. Adults should quiz the children on the facts.  Facts they know, should be placed in one pile, ones they do not should be placed in another pile.  Further practice should focus on the unknown facts while occasionally revisiting the known facts.

My goal for all students is to have each fact memorized.  This means that a child can give you the answer without first thinking about it.  As they learn these facts, especially the difficult ones, they should think about how facts relate to one another. For example, a child might know that 2x9=18, but have difficulty with 3x9.  The child should recognize that 3x9 is just one more nine than 2x9.  Consequently, they could take 2x9=18 and then add 9 to get 27.

Please work with your child on these facts, it will make math in future grades much easier for them.