Should kids know their multiplication facts?
When teaching math, whether in the home or in the classroom, having the multiplication facts memorized speeds things up. If you allow a calculator, you’re still reducing the speed of doing other math calculations or thinking.
But is there some way to memorize these and make them fun?
I scrounged the web and found some resources for multiplication tricks.
Poems as Multiplication Tricks
Inspired by @Leighbra at Hearth to Heart, I found a list of math poems that can help kiddos (and grownups) remember some of the facts. My favorite: I ate and ate and got sick on the floor. Eight times eight is 64.
Seven
This is an impressive list of various ways to multiply by seven. Tricks to Multiply by Seven
Nine
This one shows a way to multiply 9s without using your fingers. Which means you don’t have to waste time putting down and picking back up your pencil! Tricks to Multiply by 9
Using Fingers
This article gives three tricks to multiply using your fingers. Not my favorite, only because I hate to put down my pencil. But if you are doing purely mental multiplication, this article’s a great resource! Three finger tricks for multiplying
Multiplication Tricks for Other Numbers
Here’s a couple more that give multiplication tricks for many numbers:
- Multiplication Tips and Tricks by Math Is Fun (with a handy chart!)
- Multiplication tricks by Home-Ed
The one I made up
I created this while in class one day. I have a hard time remembering the difference between 7 x 8 and 9 x 6. So I thought about it and saw that 56 = 7 x 8, which is 5, 6, 7, 8 in order!
Do you have one? Please share with us!
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