times tables
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times tables
Hi
Anyone have any tips on helping to learn times tables,my son's ok up to the six times but a bit iffy from there.Any tips greatly appreciated!!
Anyone have any tips on helping to learn times tables,my son's ok up to the six times but a bit iffy from there.Any tips greatly appreciated!!
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Mike Edwards
Hi
Work with a timestable square.
You say that he knows all his tables up to six and I assume he knows his 10 times tables.
Cross out all the sums that he knows.
There are a number of strategies for learning 9x table. For example 8 x 10 = 80, 80 - 8 = 72 etc. Test him with this strategy then cross out the 9x table.
Teach him that 7 x 4 is the same as 4 x 7, then cross out all duplicated sums.
You will find that the sums left over are the main sums that children have difficulty with i.e.
6 x 6
6 x 7
6 x 8
7 x 7
7 x 8
8 x 8
Once you get to this stage he should realise that he knows far more than he thinks he knows and practicing the above sums will be quite easy.
Regards
Mike
Work with a timestable square.
You say that he knows all his tables up to six and I assume he knows his 10 times tables.
Cross out all the sums that he knows.
There are a number of strategies for learning 9x table. For example 8 x 10 = 80, 80 - 8 = 72 etc. Test him with this strategy then cross out the 9x table.
Teach him that 7 x 4 is the same as 4 x 7, then cross out all duplicated sums.
You will find that the sums left over are the main sums that children have difficulty with i.e.
6 x 6
6 x 7
6 x 8
7 x 7
7 x 8
8 x 8
Once you get to this stage he should realise that he knows far more than he thinks he knows and practicing the above sums will be quite easy.
Regards
Mike
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Darren
Free Table Square
There is a free times table square that you can print off in the free download section of this website:
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/pdf/Ma ... _Aid_1.pdf
You may find this useful. All you have to do is print it off.
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/pdf/Ma ... _Aid_1.pdf
You may find this useful. All you have to do is print it off.
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Guest
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Stephen McConkey
- Posts: 27
- Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2006 8:48 pm
Times tables
Hello
I agree with the post from Mike. Helping your son grasp how many tables he already knows is a good idea. You can take this further by explaining the link between multiplication tables and division sums. My experience in school tells me that there are no shortcuts and they have to be learnt wrote or parrot fashion. Anything that makes this easier is worth incorporating.
Stephen
I agree with the post from Mike. Helping your son grasp how many tables he already knows is a good idea. You can take this further by explaining the link between multiplication tables and division sums. My experience in school tells me that there are no shortcuts and they have to be learnt wrote or parrot fashion. Anything that makes this easier is worth incorporating.
Stephen
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Guest
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Mike Edwards
Hi
Ultimately a student should just know that 7 x 8 = 56 without thinking too much about it.
The recital of timestables allows the child to learn the series of numbers but I tend recall a school joke where little Johnny was asked to recite his six times tables, he replied dah, dah, de, dah, dah, dah, de, dah, dah, dah, de, dah, sorry miss I know the tune, but I don't know the words.
I believe that tables should be taught as rote initially, then each table should be randomised so that the students imprint the individual sums in their long term memory and is able to recall them.
When a student gets to the 6 difficult sums I suggest the following activity:
e.g. learning 7 x 6 = 42
Calmly say, seven times six is forty-two, seven times six is forty-two, seven times six is forty-two...................(nine times)
The psychology behind this is that an individual can store 7 items +/- 2 in their short term memory. If the short term memory is "loaded" with nine identical pieces of information then it is likely that a large portion of this information will transfer into long term memory for later recall.
24 hours after the first exercise the student should be tested for recall, if recall is not successful then the exercise should be repeated.
This is a neat little trick that should only take one-two minutes per day for three or four days.
Regards
Mike
Ultimately a student should just know that 7 x 8 = 56 without thinking too much about it.
The recital of timestables allows the child to learn the series of numbers but I tend recall a school joke where little Johnny was asked to recite his six times tables, he replied dah, dah, de, dah, dah, dah, de, dah, dah, dah, de, dah, sorry miss I know the tune, but I don't know the words.
I believe that tables should be taught as rote initially, then each table should be randomised so that the students imprint the individual sums in their long term memory and is able to recall them.
When a student gets to the 6 difficult sums I suggest the following activity:
e.g. learning 7 x 6 = 42
Calmly say, seven times six is forty-two, seven times six is forty-two, seven times six is forty-two...................(nine times)
The psychology behind this is that an individual can store 7 items +/- 2 in their short term memory. If the short term memory is "loaded" with nine identical pieces of information then it is likely that a large portion of this information will transfer into long term memory for later recall.
24 hours after the first exercise the student should be tested for recall, if recall is not successful then the exercise should be repeated.
This is a neat little trick that should only take one-two minutes per day for three or four days.
Regards
Mike
