MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION FACT STRATEGIES:
1. Some Multiplication Table Tricks:

2 times table - all products (answers) are even numbers.
3 times table - all products, or their sums repeat the sequence 3,6,9:

1x3=3 4x3=12, so 1+2=3
2x3=6 5x3=15, so 1+5=6
3x3=9 6x3=18, so 1+8=9, and so on.

5 times table - all products end with a 0 or a 5.

9 times table - if you add up the digits that make up each product, they always equal 9:

1x9=9
2x9=18, so 1+8=9
3x9=27, so 2+7=9
4x9=36, so 3+6=9, and so on.

6 and 7 times table - while not a trick, if your student likes football, score keeping can make use of these times tables, especially the 7 times table.

Look for other tricks or patterns that your child may use to remember certain facts. Here's an example: use 5,6,7,8 to remember 56=7x8. Your child may come up with her own special ways to remember certain facts.

Encourage your students to use these tricks to check work. If a student is working with the 9 times tables and gets an answer such as 38, help her to see that 3+8 doesn't equal 9, so that answer needs to be checked. Using these patterns can be a valuable aid to accuracy in computation.

2. Counting By . . .:

Have students practice counting by 2's, 3's, 5's and other numbers as they become skilled. This is a good way to reinforce the sequence of products of a particular number, and to get a sense of what products "belong to"that number.

For example, saying "3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27" will give children a feeling for the products of three. Later, if a student comes upon 3x7, and she has been saying 22, she will now know that 22 is not one of the numbers she says when "counting by three". She will begin to develop a number sense and an appreciation of the patterns within the multiplication tables. Start with the easier ones, and add on additional numbers as mastery is reached.

3. Make It Easier:

The higher up in the times tables you go, the harder it may seem to learn the facts. Yet, there are really very few new facts to learn as you go up. In fact, there is only one fact that has an answer in the 80's (9x9=81). There is also only one in the 70's (8x9=72). There are two in the 60's (8x8=64 and 9x7=63) and only two in the 50's (7x8=56 and 9x6=54). Focusing on these few facts makes learning them easier.

Finally, here is a great game for practicing those facts with your class. My top level 4th grade math students LOVED it!

Clapping Game

The clapping game is a fun way for students to review and practice the multiplication tables.

To play:

1. Have students stand behind their chairs.

2. Choose a times table for the round (for example, the 6-times table).

3. In turn, have students name numbers beginning with one, until coming to a number which is a product in the selected times table. In that case, the student should clap instead of saying the number. The count-off for the 6 times table would begin as follows: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, clap, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, clap, etc. Have students continue counting around the class until the ending number for the round has been reached (for example 6x12=72). This ending number should be decided upon before the round begins depending upon the level of the students.

4. If a student incorrectly claps, or names a number which should be clapped, he must sit out for the rest of the round.

5. Continue to practice products of various times tables in this manner.

Have some fun with those facts, and your students will learn them in no time!

© 2003 Irene Taylor. All rights reserved. Re-printed with permission. Originally published on Suite 101.