How to Master Multiplication Through Drills and Games
Use the power of game enjoyment to make multiplication learning easy and enjoyable., Be prepared to get involved., Make the cards before starting., Read the background., Play Sequences of Products': level 1., Begin with the "2" Sequence., Proceed in...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Use the power of game enjoyment to make multiplication learning easy and enjoyable.
The three sets of cards explained in this tutorial will help your kids master multiplication through the drills and games explained here In addition, you can also use activities of your own making or inspired by games such as "Happy Families"
"Snap" or "Dominoes"
to name but a few.
Note that while most drills and games can be played individually, they are more fun played in group. -
Step 2: Be prepared to get involved.
The tutor, parent/guardian, or teacher must get involved too.
Monitor progress discreetly and join in the fun, especially when you are caught out, when the kids use their special way of thinking and the adult isn't ready for it! Adults should spot weak areas in this multiplication journey and help kids overcome them by using graphs and charts up to their level, real things close to them and simple direct talk.
Use varied repetition accompanied by relaxing breaks. , Have the kids help you ––involving the kids in the making of the teaching materials is of great importance to keep up their motivation to attain a variety of objectives.
The games revolve around using the 31 product and 36 factor cards ( small cards, see "Things You'll Need" below for details).
These cards can be mastered as an enjoyable challenge within a group of friends.
Return every now and then to drill the "big cards" (see below).
Set a quick pace and focus on keeping the learning close to schoolwork. , Products to elicit factors are both explained at Master Multiplication Without Learning the Tables.
This must be read first., Big Cards.
The eight possible sequences of products within this approach are:
2......4/6/8/10/12/14/16/18
3......6/9/12/15/18//21/24/27
4......8/12/16/20/24/28/32/36
5......10/15/20/25/30/35/40/45
6......12/18/24/30/36/42/48/54
7......14/21/28/25/42/49/56/63
8......16/24/32/40/48/56/64/72
9......18/27/36/45/54/63/72/81 , Cards are shuffled and handed round.
The drill begins with the kid next to the dealer laying out any card that belongs to this sequence.
As the answers are given away on the the side of the card, the drill will be completed in no time.
With the "2" sequence displayed on the table, kids are asked to say the factors following the actual wording they are used to using.
As the clues are visible on the product side, they are bound to succeed, although they have to bear in mind that 12, 16 and 18 have two pairs of factors as the clues indicate. , In each case, the dealer has to place all cards on the table, shuffle them and hand them round again, as you can only make one sequence at a time., For this version, you'll need Small Cards, Products and a timer (optional, at 10 seconds).
Shuffle the set of cards and hand them around.
The kid whose turn it is, lays down any product that belongs to the "2" sequence.
If he/she fails, he/she misses a turn.
The kid who finishes a sequence without making an error is the new dealer.
Kids are expected to set the products in order while they are completing a sequence.
Proceed in a similar way from "3" to " 9". , This is a slight variation on the previous game.
A player throws in a product and the next adds, to the right right, a card supposedly related to the first one.
Any card can be challenged but if the challenge turns out wrong, the challenger misses a turn.
Whoever ends the sequence ( 8 cards), checks its order and calls out the corresponding factors and gets everything ready for the next sequence. ,, The kid who is the dealer lays a card, the next another and the third the last one of a trio.
The following kid has to give his/her opinion along these lines:
All cards are okay, (81,18, 45); the trio is no good (27,12,10) or this specific card is wrong (9, 8,12).
The answer:
9.
As usual, all answers can be challenged by other players.
Do not use 1 times table nor 10 times for this game. ,, By folding a little piece of the same squared/graph paper, have them make a mark for an origin and then a "10" vertical slant.
By moving the ruler along this line, have them mark the tens and write in the corresponding figures.
Next have them mark on the ruler the five unit intervals and mark little dots or slashes along the number line.
However, this time do it without writing in the fives, just to make it neater and less crowded. , And they can chant, as well, in a kind of slow motion, as they check the times along the line., This gives everybody the same chance " to come to the front".
Proceed in a likewise manner with the rest of the digits.
Make kids use the square/graph paper ruler in order not to have them counting unit by unit, and do proper skip-counting. , In this way, you have a new sequence that will help the kids.
Leave out the 1 and 100, so the sequence would be: 4, 9,16, 25, 36, 49, 64 and
81.
Draw and colour the sequence, to have it written out in full.
Add 1 and 100 to give the chart an look of unity.,, The purpose of this activity is to make kids associate related cards.
The dominoes can adopt any shapes.
The kid who uses up all his/her cards is the winner.
All cards can be challenged., You'll also need a timer., The first team will have the product cards and the other team the factor cards., Hand them out to the members within each team., All fails are counted to determine the winning team. -
Step 3: Make the cards before starting.
-
Step 4: Read the background.
-
Step 5: Play Sequences of Products': level 1.
-
Step 6: Begin with the "2" Sequence.
-
Step 7: Proceed in a similar way to complete the rest of the eight sequences.
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Step 8: Play Sequences of Products: level 2.
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Step 9: Play Random Sequences.
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Step 10: Use Small Product cards for this game.
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Step 11: Hand out all of the cards.
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Step 12: Use several sheets of big squared graph paper or square/graph paper notebooks.
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Step 13: Ask the kids to prepare a number line
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Step 14: starting at "0" and ending at "100".
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Step 15: When they have all finished writing the "2" sequence on the number line
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Step 16: have them chant the products.
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Step 17: Draw a random kid from the pack of kids' names.
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Step 18: On the Number Line Chart
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Step 19: highlight the squares.
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Step 20: Use Small Product cards.
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Step 21: Play as for normal dominoes.
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Step 22: Use all Small cards.
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Step 23: Divide the kids into two teams.
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Step 24: Shuffle the cards.
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Step 25: To start
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Step 26: one team throws in a card and the other team has to supply its pair or even trio before the time is over.
Detailed Guide
The three sets of cards explained in this tutorial will help your kids master multiplication through the drills and games explained here In addition, you can also use activities of your own making or inspired by games such as "Happy Families"
"Snap" or "Dominoes"
to name but a few.
Note that while most drills and games can be played individually, they are more fun played in group.
The tutor, parent/guardian, or teacher must get involved too.
Monitor progress discreetly and join in the fun, especially when you are caught out, when the kids use their special way of thinking and the adult isn't ready for it! Adults should spot weak areas in this multiplication journey and help kids overcome them by using graphs and charts up to their level, real things close to them and simple direct talk.
Use varied repetition accompanied by relaxing breaks. , Have the kids help you ––involving the kids in the making of the teaching materials is of great importance to keep up their motivation to attain a variety of objectives.
The games revolve around using the 31 product and 36 factor cards ( small cards, see "Things You'll Need" below for details).
These cards can be mastered as an enjoyable challenge within a group of friends.
Return every now and then to drill the "big cards" (see below).
Set a quick pace and focus on keeping the learning close to schoolwork. , Products to elicit factors are both explained at Master Multiplication Without Learning the Tables.
This must be read first., Big Cards.
The eight possible sequences of products within this approach are:
2......4/6/8/10/12/14/16/18
3......6/9/12/15/18//21/24/27
4......8/12/16/20/24/28/32/36
5......10/15/20/25/30/35/40/45
6......12/18/24/30/36/42/48/54
7......14/21/28/25/42/49/56/63
8......16/24/32/40/48/56/64/72
9......18/27/36/45/54/63/72/81 , Cards are shuffled and handed round.
The drill begins with the kid next to the dealer laying out any card that belongs to this sequence.
As the answers are given away on the the side of the card, the drill will be completed in no time.
With the "2" sequence displayed on the table, kids are asked to say the factors following the actual wording they are used to using.
As the clues are visible on the product side, they are bound to succeed, although they have to bear in mind that 12, 16 and 18 have two pairs of factors as the clues indicate. , In each case, the dealer has to place all cards on the table, shuffle them and hand them round again, as you can only make one sequence at a time., For this version, you'll need Small Cards, Products and a timer (optional, at 10 seconds).
Shuffle the set of cards and hand them around.
The kid whose turn it is, lays down any product that belongs to the "2" sequence.
If he/she fails, he/she misses a turn.
The kid who finishes a sequence without making an error is the new dealer.
Kids are expected to set the products in order while they are completing a sequence.
Proceed in a similar way from "3" to " 9". , This is a slight variation on the previous game.
A player throws in a product and the next adds, to the right right, a card supposedly related to the first one.
Any card can be challenged but if the challenge turns out wrong, the challenger misses a turn.
Whoever ends the sequence ( 8 cards), checks its order and calls out the corresponding factors and gets everything ready for the next sequence. ,, The kid who is the dealer lays a card, the next another and the third the last one of a trio.
The following kid has to give his/her opinion along these lines:
All cards are okay, (81,18, 45); the trio is no good (27,12,10) or this specific card is wrong (9, 8,12).
The answer:
9.
As usual, all answers can be challenged by other players.
Do not use 1 times table nor 10 times for this game. ,, By folding a little piece of the same squared/graph paper, have them make a mark for an origin and then a "10" vertical slant.
By moving the ruler along this line, have them mark the tens and write in the corresponding figures.
Next have them mark on the ruler the five unit intervals and mark little dots or slashes along the number line.
However, this time do it without writing in the fives, just to make it neater and less crowded. , And they can chant, as well, in a kind of slow motion, as they check the times along the line., This gives everybody the same chance " to come to the front".
Proceed in a likewise manner with the rest of the digits.
Make kids use the square/graph paper ruler in order not to have them counting unit by unit, and do proper skip-counting. , In this way, you have a new sequence that will help the kids.
Leave out the 1 and 100, so the sequence would be: 4, 9,16, 25, 36, 49, 64 and
81.
Draw and colour the sequence, to have it written out in full.
Add 1 and 100 to give the chart an look of unity.,, The purpose of this activity is to make kids associate related cards.
The dominoes can adopt any shapes.
The kid who uses up all his/her cards is the winner.
All cards can be challenged., You'll also need a timer., The first team will have the product cards and the other team the factor cards., Hand them out to the members within each team., All fails are counted to determine the winning team.
About the Author
Kimberly Miller
Creates helpful guides on DIY projects to inspire and educate readers.
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