Multiplication Fact Fluency

We have long complained that kids don't know their math facts.  The focus of this blog post will be multiplication, but many of the ideas can be used in all of the operations.

Christina Tondevold's website, Build Math Minds, is full of good information for building number sense.  She says that for kids to be successful in math, there are 4 early numeracy concepts that are critical for setting the foundation for all the operations.  These are:

• verbal counting (sequencing)
• object counting
• cardinality (number of sets in a group)
• subitizing (ability to see groups)

There are also three main areas to developing fluency in math facts:

• ACCURACY
• EFFICIENCY
• FLEXIBILITY

There are a few different orders to teaching the multiplication facts, the one Tondevold recommends is to start with doubles (and then use them to help with 3s and 4s), 10s and 5s, then go to 6s and 7s, using 5s as your benchmark.    

Dr. Nikki Newton recommends 0 and 1 times, 5 and 10 times, 2, 4 and 8 times, 3, 6 and 9 times, 7 times.

I am going to go out on a limb and say the order is less important than challenging kids to see the patterns and relationships between the facts.

That being said, there are a number of ways to help with fluency.  

Use Visuals

• Arrays are usually a go-to for everyone and they are certainly helpful, but should not be the only visual we use.

4 groups of 5 or 5 groups of 4

• Use flash cards of groups of numbers.

4 groups of 3 = 4x3

• Division 1 has long used 10 frames in their addition and subtraction practice.  This should not have been such a happy surprise to see how well it would work for multiplication/division.  It is a perfect visual and can be used as flash cards for subitizing.

• Rekenreks/number racks can be used like 10 Frames to show distributive principle.

Use Number Strings

• Number strings help students to see the relationships between numbers.

2 x 6

4 x 6

4 x 12

14 x 6

4 x 16

24 x 16

4 x 0.6

Play Games

As Dan Finkel, of Math 4 Love says, "What books are to reading, games are to math."   Kids used to play more games at home and as a result, had better number sense.  Playing games allows kids to engage in math without necessarily even knowing they are practicing a skill.  Some game suggestions include:

• Multiplication War (can be used for any operation)
• Zap or Kaboom
• Salute (now I did not know this was the name of the game.  It is the one where 2 kids put a card on their head.  The third gives the product so the other 2 figure out their factors).

• Prime Climb

• Yahtzee
• There are numerous games in Math Games for Number and Operations and Algebraic Thinking

• Of course, Box Cars and One-Eyed Jacks has games available
• Multiplication Squares

Really the list could go on and on.  In the end, fluency practice needs to happen regularly and be related to what kids already know for it to stick.  Have fun playing with it.  If you have fun with it, the kids will too!