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I'm not sure where to post this...
I need assistance/tricks/techniques on teaching DS7 the times tables. DS will not sit and memorize them. That would be ideal. He refuses, even with incentives (bribes). We tried Timez Attacks which he played for a bit but didn't seem to really be learning too much (I'm sure it worked for others). We have a wall chart taped to our pantry door which lists 1x1 through 12x12 but he has no interest. Also tried the same info on a placemat. Help! BTW - DS does like math just can't be bothered to memorize these tables. When quizzed, would rather take 90 sec to come up with the answer rather than just "know" it cold... Help!

I have a CD from the library called Multiplication Songs by the Learning Beat Series. I play it in the car and the multiplication tables are repeated with delayed answers for practice. My daughter hates drill but this ear-worm approach seems to work.

Hi,

I won't go from memorizing 1 times table and up. I find by learning in this order, my kids can remember better.

1) Know that Any Number x 0 = 0
2) Any number x 1 = the number itself
3) Learn all the doubles. Eg. 1x1, 2x2, 3x3 ..... 10x10 , 11 x11, 12x12
4) Any number x 10 = the number itself with a 0 behind.
5) Start to learn multiplication of numbers between 1-5. Eg: 2x4, 5x3. Practise by using triangular flash cards, or during dinner (or anytime!) for fun.
6) Once well versed of the above, expand to 6-10 or 12.

There are some tricks for some. For the 9 times table, u can use your ten fingers!
For 7x8=56, just remember 5,6,7,8.
For 3x4=12, it is 1,2,3,4.

I find that my kids learn better compared to the rote method of plain memorizing. Of course, we have to "know" the answers (accuracy and speed) eventually but the above really helps! I remembered my dd was always stucked at 7 x 4. I gave her impromptus question daily till she gets it! :lol: DS seems to always get stucked at 6x8. I don't know why??!!

I did plain old flash cards with DS last year. About 5min a day for 2 weeks, and he had them all down. I paid him a penny per card he got right each day, too. He still tries to get me to do flash cards with him because of that. I'll hang on to my money, thanks. LOL!

Have you tried dice games? We roll 4 dice (so that we can get up to 12x12) and multiply the sum of 2 of them times the sum of the other two. The goal is to fill in a blank chart with all the answers before mom does.

You might also look for a game called "1-2-3-Oy!" We got it for $5.95 at a local educational game fair, though I think much of it you could do with regular cards if you wanted to. There are many ways to play, but there's one solitaire game that we're using to work on times tables with our DS7: lay out 4 or 6 (or more) cards and one goal card. There's even a set of wild cards that you decide on a value for ahead of time--DS7 chose 100!--that can make the game more or less challenging. Use multiplication and division to reach the goal card using as many of the cards in your hand as possible. You can add and subtract products as well, but you must use some multiplication or division for it to count. Then clear away the cards you used and your goal card and deal new ones to start again. (You could probably play this with more than one person, too.)

Usborne Books (and other companies, I'm sure!) also have self-checking cards that you wrap with string to select answers to math problems. The pattern the string makes tells you if you're right. I'm not explaining it very well, but the Usborne name for it is "Learning Wrap-Ups." My kids seem to like these. The 4yo is actually learning *his* times tables with it! Some days I think he's going to beat the 7yo in mastering them!

Anyway...

Studying patterns in the chart is also good for visual kids. Give my son a chart of numbers, and he can stare at it all day. Multiplication got a lot easier for him when we looked for patterns. It's like he soaked up the whole chart in one day. His interest level rose, too. He's a lot more interested in it now that he sees there are cool patterns involved.

Finally, a lot of GT kids who get the concept of multiplication aren't interested in doing the memorization work to know the facts cold. It's very common. Until they see a *reason* to put in the time and effort, they just won't learn them. Algebra problems can help. And repeated exposure in fun ways seems to work wonders. Games that require speedy recall work once they know some/most of the facts pretty well. (Don't use these too early, though, or they'll get frustrated that they can never win.)

If you find any good ideas, please share. I'm always looking for new ways to work with my DS7 on fact recall.

BTW, I second the "may not be ready" thing.

Just because they know the concept doesn't mean they're ripe for memorization. At 6, my DS had totally mastered the concept, but CLEARLY wasn't ready to memorize. Nothing stuck, and he wasn't at all interested.

So we shifted gears and did geometry for a while, since that was perfect for his visual style, hunger for concepts, and lack of interest in computation. It was completely out of the normal math path, but it worked for him. Now, a year later, he's much more interested in computation and is gradually learning his facts. (He still hates flash cards--visual kids don't usually have any great love for those...)

That's the main reason I resist "drill and kill" for my 7yo. If he were 9 and still hadn't learned them, I'd be pushing a lot harder. As it is, I think making it appealing so that I can keep throwing it at him regularly seems to be a better approach. Not that I think life has to be a party, but that he's doing it early, so there's no need to make him miserable along the way, you know? You catch more flies with honey and all that...

You can also try "Multiplication War" or a Schoolhouse Rock video(my personal favorite). The War card game is a set of card with equations on them, each player puts down a card and the player with the higher number keeps the card, there is a war when the cards are of equal value.

Thank you for all the wonderful suggestions!!! DS7's teacher recommended we teach him the times tables since he is flying through math and she wants to keep him challenged. She said the next thing for him would be to learn the times tables so he can continue on his math track. I haven't tried most of the tricks listed above but I will. DS7 is highly visual-spatial and loves to draw so tricks along those lines just might work. Inky - thanks for the songs trick. It would be good to keep it on in the car. Dottie - the drawing idea might work as might a partial chart. I'll also check out the link. S-T, thanks for the order of how to learn the facts. RJH - yes, we did use $ for an incentive. I'll try flashcards that we can keep in the car. Kriston - didn't think of the dice game but that is great! I could even use it at a restaurant with the kids or anywhere we have to wait. It could be modified for DD5 so she can be included. I think the patterns tricks might do it. CFK - it is holding him back. On the one hand, I get complaints that math is getting repetitious for him and on the other, he's not willing to stretch. He just might be ready to learn.
You all are great!!! Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Do consider asking the teacher to consider geometry (or some such thing) over "drill and kill." If he's enjoying the multiplication work, great! But if not, please do consider another direction.

There *are* ways to move forward in math without forcing the times table issue too early. Remember that memory and conceptual grasp are two different things for a kid. Math facts do not have to be a sticking point for conceptually GT kids if the teacher is willing to go a little further afield.

JMHO, having been in these shoes last year. Making math all about memorization is, sadly, a good way to make a mathy kid hate math. He's ahead, so why do that to him?

I think it's fabulous that your son enjoys "playing" with multiplication. I felt I went too quickly from being introduced to the concept to memorizing without enough opportunity to play around with multiplication.

You could help your son with shortcuts to figuring out the answer. For example to figure out 8x7 you could show him it's the same as (8x5) + (8x2). It seems easier to multiply by 5's and 2's and then add rather than adding 7 eight times.