Need Advice with Helping My 9 Years Old Boy with His Multiplication Tables

I am a 4th grade teacher and this is what I show my kids: If you take the times tables and remove the "easy" ones, like the 1s, 2s, 5s, 10s and 11s(except 11 x 11 and 11 x 12), and then take out the ones that are reverse of eachother (like 4 x 5 and 5 x 4) The 9s he can do on his fingers (if he doesn't know that let me know) Anyway, when you take all of those off the times table chart, there are only 24 facts that he would need to work on. 3 x 3, 3 x 4, 3 x 6, 3 x 7, 3 x 8, 3 x 12, 4 x 4, 4 x 6, 4 x 7, 4 x 8, 4 x 12, 6 x 6, 6 x 7, 6 x 8, 6 x 12, 7 x 7, 7 x 8, 7 x 12, 8 x 8, 8 x 12, 9 x 12, 11 x 11, 11 x 12, 12 x 12. You can also go on teachertube.com and look up some of the multiplication rock songs from Schoolhouse Rock. My daughter who is 6 loves those and she is even starting to know some of her times tables. Hope this was helpful!

There are free tutors for children that need help in some areas. Also you can use the homework help sites online for him to study. A multiplication chart is a great help. Have him make one right away.

You might want to try Times Tales. It works really well with my daughter. Check it out at http://www.triggermemorysystem.com. If your son also has a difficulty reading, you might want to go to www.bartonreading.com to see if there is more involved.

My Grandparents were teachers and they would come spend the summers with us and bring my 4 cousins with them. Everyday before we could go out and play, we would have to do our "T's". Take a sheet of paper and make a 12 large T's. On one side of each T write the numbers 1 through 12. Then number each T on the top 1 ,2, and so on to 12. Have your son write the answer on the other side of the T.

I don't know if this will help him or not, but I can tell you my cousins and I KNOW our times tables!!! Also if you have a computer you can make a grid with number 1 through 12 on two sides and print out a bunch of copies so he can do them over and over. That's the key. Doing them over and over and over. Good luck!

It's ironic that you should ask this question this week. My brother-in-law and his collegues have just put out a dvd series of multiplication rap. Here is a link to the sample clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiGr8_LRllc My 4 and 6 year old neice have already memorized most of the first 6 tables. My 3-year-old daughter can do her 8's. Let me know if you are interested and I can get you more information, cost, etc.

MY advice is the same as Tahnees but an easier way is to put your hands up palms facing you. starting from the left count how many you are multiplyingsay like 2x9 you would count 2 fingers to the left what you have left are the thumb (1) and 3 on the left hand & 5 on the right hand (8)= 18. My kids taught this to me when I was taking pre-algebra as I have always struggled with 9s whether it be adding subtracting multiplying or division. I was amazed. Touch math is also very good. My girl used it in 1st grade because she has reading comprehension issues & it really helped her with her addition & believe it or not I also use it to this day really helps when no calculator is handy. Good luck

We all learn differntly, some by visualization, some by wrioting, some by listening or reading...How does your son learn? Ask your son's teacher to suggest the best method.
Could be he needs to write them down and say them out loaud, over and over...

We used what could be called a demonstration kit- or call it a bunch of little thingys,
we put stones, and little animals, and coins and paper clips- anyway little stuf, and then we"demo'd " out the times tables 2x2 is easy, and 9x9 gets funny, and we keep it "spirit of play" all happy and wow look at that with just 5x5 look how much it stands for and wow how clever we are to have such a system- and you can do it with fruit, and 3 kids each get 5 frutis(a day) :-) and now we know how much to buy in the store, all how are we going to use this- and how it is practical- $7 per hour x 5 hours means you make this much money.
Ok- that is what worked for us! and we were happy doing it- imagine that!!!
best of luck k

My teacher did me the biggest favor by using a tape that had us sing (almost like a rap) all of the multiplication tables. There are a bunch of multiplication songs/raps on youtube you can listen to for free. Music is an amazing mnemonic device that really makes the numbers 'stick' in your head without much effort at all.

Try youtube.com and type 'multiplication table' into the search box. You'll find a huge variety of music styles for all of the different numbers.

Try the Touch Math program or multiplication table jingle songs.

I see that Tawnee uses the method that I used to use. They actually taught us that in school when I was young. It really helps! Say you need to figure out what 9 times 3 is--you put your third finger down and then count how many numbers are on the left of it and then how many fingers are on the right of it (2 on the left and 7 on the right so you get 27). I hope this helps!

I am not sure how you feel about computer games, but you could give this a shot. http://www.bigbrainz.com/ It is a game called Timez Attack. There is a free version that lets you go through your 2s-12s. You go through a dungeon and fight ogres. If you want to pay for the full version, then you can do a machine level and fight robots or a lava level and fight ogres. This game really does help reinforce memorizing the times tables, and it is fun too. And totally Free! My kids love it. Hope this helps!

N.

He may like some the free games at multiplication.com. The best one is times attack, which you have to download, but it's pretty awesome. I think the game can help a lot and they're fun.
The most effective thing I've found is to use worksheets that are all of one multiple....just the 3's or just the 5's. Have him do a worksheet a day of whatever number he wants to work on until he's fast. Then choose another. Do that one everyday until it's mastered....after he's gone through all them then try a mixed page.
You can find the worksheets here
http://math.about.com/cs/multiplication/a/multws.htm
I really think that is the best way to master them!
Hope it helps=)

Make sure he understands what multiplication actually is. Use some candy and show him 2 groups of 2 is 4, 4 groups of 4 is 16, etc. After he understands that, the rest is memorization. As for learning the 9's, use your both hands. Open both hands in front of you. Put down your left pinky. THis is the answer for 1x9. For 2 x9, put down your second finger from the left. You have 18 (one finger up, space, then eight fingers). Continue through 9x9. Hope this helps.

here's a great website

http://www.multiplication.com/teach.htm

Hey M.,

Sometimes it's the fright in doing what is new and when there is failure it's hard to get him to try again. I'm a former teacher of 15 years, working from home now so I can help my little guy through school. So, I'm guessing if he's 9 he's in 4th grade, a time they are doing X's. So, try this . . .

Start off with your 1's then move to 2's, then 5's and 10's. The kids learn how to count by 2's, 5's and 10's in K. This shouldn't be a hard concept for him. Now, show him how to use his fingers as the number he's multiplying by . . . 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 = 2x5. Once all these are mastered move to 3's, then 4's. At this point he will be able to reverse multiply numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10. It's more than half over now. Get the concep? Once you show him that he's got the reverse multiplication 8x5=40, he'll be on cloud 9.

Good luck!! It's just a work in progress and the light does eventually turn on once he forms his little mind around what he's doing. It's like writing in K . . . one day they just read.

K. Woodlief
www.LovinLifeHome.com

I downloaded a terrific (and free!) computer game from the internet. It really makes them do the math over and over to make sure they master it and also incorporates the "need for speed" as well. It is called Timez Attack, and I'm sure if you typed that in on the internet you'd find it. Good luck! I need to get my son playing it more again to brush up before school starts!

All the ideas on here are great. Just having the music in the background will help the songs (and multiplication facts) sink into his brain without him realizing he's "working"! The online games are fun too so it doesn't feel so tedious. You can also play card games with them. For example, flip over 2 cards and multiply them together. If you get it right, you get to keep the cards. If not, mom or dad gets it. At the end, count them up and see how many you got. Keep playing, and the child should be getting more points every time! Another game is called the "beat the calculator." One person has the calculator and the other uses their brain. You flip over two cards, and one person has to type it in while the other tries to figure it out in their head. It's a race to see who can get it faster. Either way, they are practicing their facts. If they have the calculator, they are seeing the answers over and over (good for visual and kinesthetic learners). If they are playing against the calculator, they are having to hurry, so they can't do the slow way, such as counting by 5's, etc. This is a good one for helping them to get more fluent with their facts. There are books at the teacher store that have file folder games for multiplication or board games. It might be worth checking out. The best way to memorize is lots of practice!

Hi, M.. Hon, it's too early to panic about multiplication tables. It's a really, really hard concept for kids to master, and it takes a lot of time.

How far is he supposed to be in the table? Usually second graders go up to the 5's, and then in third grade they go beyond that. One way that you can help him understand what this is all about is by using objects to show him what 3 X 3 really means -- 3 things repeated 3 times, and then make him count up 9 objects. You can do this with candy or beads or any small, colorful object. Make sure you have a big collection of just one thing -- M & Ms, buttons, beads, or even pennies. Let him eat the candies when he gets it right, and let him keep the pennies. This will give him encouragement and incentive to work on it.

Flash cards are only good if the child understands what the "times" thing means. Flash cards will only help a child memorize answers; they don't help him understand what all this means.

It can help to sing the problems, too. "One times one is one. One times two is two." Music helps a child remember in more than one part of his brain.

Above all, don't be anxious, and don't punish him for not understanding. The more anxious or angry you are, the less he will understand.

Peace,
Syl

The Schoolhouse Rock multiplication songs are pretty good. Remembering the songs may help your son remember his tables. Good Luck!

I have beend counting the multiples a loud with my two older girls and this seems to help. EX: 2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20 then 3,6,9,12,15,18,21,24,27,30 up to the multiple of 10. I also wrote them on a card for them to look at.