Multiplication Facts are essential background knowledge for upper grade math. Going deeper with Common Core Math can be challenging when your students don’t have a solid foundation in multiplication. Teaching multiplication strategies helps to build a firm foundation for math to come. Have you ever been in the middle of a lesson trying to teach […]
Multiply 2 Digit Numbers: 3 Strategies
Multiply 2 digit numbers using 3 strategies. Once you’ve introduced the strategies, students can choose a method that works for their learning style. The following photos come from a PowerPoint I made to help introduce the methods. Traditional Algorithm Most adults are familiar with the traditional method for multiplying multi-digit numbers. Actually, this method is […]
Memorize is NOT a Bad Word
“Students shouldn’t be encouraged to memorize facts. They should be using strategies.” Everytime I go to a training, someone is saying this. As an intervention teacher who has worked with 6th graders who are adding 5 +3 with their fingers still, it is frustrating. The explanaition is that as we teach students strategies for facts, […]
10 Ways to Encourage Multiplication Fact Fluency
Memorizing basic multiplication facts has gotten a bad rep. “Drill and kill.” Teachers feel so much pressure to believe that teaching Common Core Standards means only teaching word problems and higher order thinking. We have to be careful to make sure our students have the basic knowledge they need to tackle those tough math challenges. […]
Multiplying Multi-Digit Numbers: 3 Strategies
Multiplying multi-digit numbers can be a challenge for 5th graders. But, these three strategies help students make sense of it. Most of us learned a short cut in school to help us multiply multi digit numbers known as the standard algorithm or traditional algorithm. One thing we as teachers need to be careful of is […]