Help with Multipacation

I am glad this question came up, I need some help with my son as well. One idea I have is to take a deck of cards, talk out all the jacks, kings and queens and then split up the cards. you each flip over a card and he has to multiply them together, if he gets it right he gets the cards if not you get the cards. Just like the game of war to a point.

Hope that makes sense.

Hi K.,

May I suggest the Leap Frog Products, (sold at Walmart) Ebay has them as well. Item found at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/2-LEAPFROG-iQUEST-MATH-SCIENCE-grades...
or
http://cgi.ebay.com/Leapfrog-Leap-frog-Twist-Shout-Multip...

Hope this helps!

C.

Try a speed test number grid.

Get squared paper or make little boxes.Easy to knock up with a ruler and pen. Start with a small box, perhaps 6 by 6 and use his most well know tables. Mix them up from left to right at the top of the grid horizontally. So it might look like this; 3,5,2,10,6,11
Do the same again for vertical numbers but choose different numbers e.g. ,5,7,9,10,12,8
Give him a stop watch. Complete the grid. He can go in any order lt to rt. mixed, top to bottom. It doesn't matter.

Write his time down. The first time will be slow getting use to reading the grid.. Get him to beat his time and reduce errors. Playing against himself. Increase the grid to 7 by 7 etc all the way up to 12 by 12.

Lots of variations of this game. Depending on your views on rewards they work well at the beginning to get them to persevere reading the boxes, which is sometimes a new concept. But not something that should be relied on. I found recording the time and trying to beat it was reward enough. I joined in myself to sharpen my skills. I got them to circle the wrong answers and it was for them to find the right answer. or I'd tell them if it was too much. Keep all the grids in one book. It's good to look back on and see how far they've come. Fun activity to do before dinner, on a car journey. Get siblings, family to give him 8 numbers between 1 and 12 in any order( e.g.for an 8x8 grid) or set up a bowl of numbers and he chooses in random order his numbers. If he struggles- keep the numbers in order 2,3,4,5,6 then 3,5,6,7 etc then start mixing up 2,5,4,6,7,8 etc go at their pace.

Hope that helps
I loved this game with 10-11 year olds at school they loved it.

The game is supposed to be fun. It'll identify if there are problem tables eg. 8x8 8x7

I used to be a teacher before staying at home full time. I'd suggest getting a cd that makes songs or rhymes out of the multiplication tables. You could play it any time of day or in the car. (At first you may get a little resistance like it's dumb, but I promise he'll be singing along before too long.)

You may be able to find a cd at Barnes and Noble, a teacher supply store (like Bank's School Supply), or on the Internet.

There are also lots of websites that help practice multiplication tables. You could use that as reinforcement.

Good luck!

My daughter who is now 11 had a really hard time as well. I found there are all kinds of websites out there with tons of math games, including flash cards. I had her do 30 minutes a night - letting her pick games but also asking for 15 minutes of flash cards and it really improved her math skills. I wasn't able to find the links we used to use (this was probably 7 months ago) but if you Google 'Math Websites', there are many out there. It probably will only take a few minutes of research to have a bunch of options for your son. I also found that her school had links to suggested web sites to use. Good Luck!

K.,

There is a handheld game called a Flashmaster out there that works like a video game, but it is based around math facts (+.-,* & /) It has many different levels, types of practice to help kids with all of their math facts. It is not cheep (I think $50) but kids seem to like it and it does help them get their skills better in a fun way, you just have to encourage its use on a regular basis. (I used this with a 5th grader and low level 8th graders with good success) You can get more information from the website - www.flashmaster.com

Hope this helps.

Jen W.

Here is a great website: http://www.mathscore.com/

It teaches math skills from addition to algebra in an online, fill-in-the-blank, game-like format. (At $14.95 it is cheaper than most video games.)

The program auto adjusts to the childs level. Go to https://login.mathscore.com/?signup=1 and click on the "view demos" tab at the top of the page to see a multimedia presentation.

They also have a free printable worksheet generator that includes an answer key. (for us busy moms) It is very simple to use. Includes addition through division. If you like the generator be sure to send them feedback. There is a "contact us" link just below the generator links. Maybe they will add more advance worksheets if we ask nicely.
http://www.mathscore.com/math/free/worksheets/freeMathWor...

We had that same problem. I bought an audio tape that had the multiplication tables done to song. I also bought these sort of lacing "sticks" that as you lace you learn the multi and division tables. I bought both at teachers supply store in NC but I am SURE you can find them. The audio worked best I must say. Plus it is easy for you to just pop in the music and let the learning happen on it's own, NO PRESSURE, which is best.

Also chk. this site, not sure if it will help

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/brainboosters/#word

Good luck.