Many elementary school students have difficulty learning the times tables. Teachers and parents can make this process easier by leading the children in practice and games. Repetition is necessary to memorize facts. Games offer fun ways for students to be more active in the learning process. By combining repetitive practice and fun activities, students will be less likely to get stumped by multiplication problems.
Soccer Ball Practice
Write the numbers one through six in each adjoining hexagon of a soccer ball that is completely white or that has light shades of colors. Have the students sit on the floor. Call out a child's name and roll the ball to him. The student must stop the ball with his hands and see where his thumbs are on the ball. The student then multiplies those two numbers. After correctly multiplying the numbers, the student calls out another student's name and rolls the ball to her as the game continues.
Problem Swatting
Divide the class into two or three groups, depending on the number of students in the class. Have the teams line up single file behind a tape line you extended across the front of the class. Make sure the students are facing the board. Before the game begins, write various products of multiplication problems on the board. The more products you write, the more challenging the game will be. Prepare a stack of cards with multiplication problems on them that correspond to the products on the board. Give the first student in line for each team a new or unused fly swatter. Choose one of your cards and read the problem aloud, then say, "Go." The two or three students who have fly swatters run to the board and attempt to swat the correct product. The student who swats the correct product first earns a point for her team. The students with the fly swatters pass the fly swatters to the next person in line and move to the end of the line.
Poetry Writing
Sometimes a particular class has a rougher time with one set of times tables than the others. Choose that set and have the class write a song or poem for that table. For instance, if your class has the hardest time memorizing the 7s times tables, offer a few examples as follows:
"7 x 1 = 7, my best friend's name is Kevin.
7 x 2 = 14, my pet frog is really green.
7 x 3 = 21, going to the fair is lots of fun."
Help the class figure out rhymes for the rest of the 7s, and print a copy for each student. Practice your poem every day and offer small prizes or incentive for students who memorize the whole thing.
Tags: multiplication problems, times tables, ball student, correct product, students have