I know using little stories where the numbers are characters to memorize multiplication facts is generally frowned upon by mathematicians but my goodness this is effective for DS9. I got the DVD tonight. He watched part 1 (30 min.) once. It covers 3x6,3x7,3x8,3x9,4x6,4x7,4x8,4x9.

After just 30 min. he was able to do flash cards for all of them. Plus he could do more. He not only did 4x8 but could also do 8x4, 32/4 and 32/8. It was amazing!

We're supposed to practice part 1 for two weeks before moving on to part 2. It covers 6x6,6x7,6x8,6x9,7x7,7x8,7x9,8x8,8x9,9x9.

I highly recommend Times Tales.

https://www.amazon.com/Times-Tales-DVD-Jennie-Eggers/dp/0976202468

If he already understands the. math, but just needs a key to fluent recall, there is nothing wrong with using whatever memory tool works for him. Good to hear you found something that suits him! This might work for other things too.

Even more frowned on these days and definitely lo-tec, we were told nearly fifty short years ago to draw and fill in a 12x12 grid as we learned our 'times tables'. This firmly established the notion of the commutivity of multiplication right from the get go. It was also cool to see how little you had to remember left after doing the sixes. I did this with my DD too because I had found it useful. Putting it out here in case it helps anyone too.

Do you think this might be helpful for a kid with a math disability? She gets high level concepts but has *zero* fluency or automaticity. Still no basic math facts - everything is done by counting on her fingers.

I'm wondering if the stories might fit into her high level verbal comprehension and give her some kind of context. Or would she have to have the basic facts first in order for this to click?

It's worth a try. The whole idea is to use whatever memory trails are most efficient for encoding and retrieval of math facts. She understands arithmetic operations, I assume, just can't reach automaticity (if I recall, this is across the board--she had difficulty with reading fluency, as well, didn't she?) easily. There are also a variety of math fact musical products that other homeschoolers I know swear by. I can't remember the names of any of them off the top of my head, but I could find out. Or you could just search youtube.

This is why I think it works for him. His dyslexic mind and strong verbal skills make him great at storing and sorting narratives. His mind is below average in its ability to store rote information (like math facts).

This is how it works:
Each number is a thing or person. 4 is a chair, 9 is a tree, 6 is the 6th grade class, 7 is Ms. Week, 3 is a butterfly and 8 is Ms. Snowman. The illustrations are the numbers dressed up looking like the characters or thing. In part 2 we meet Mr. Snowman and Mr. Week for 8x8 and 7x7.

For 4x7 the story is "Ms. Week sat in a chair while she fished. She caught two boots and eight trout."

They first quiz on just knowing the characters. Just a call out the answer to the TV style quiz. Then show the little cartoons. Then they reduce the cartoon to a picture equation so it a chair looking 4 times a lady looking 7. Then it is a plain 4x7. Then it is a 28 / lady looking 7 and so forth.

I was really surprised he could do the division part. But for him it is "28 and Ms. Week, who is missing? Fishing on the chair! Four!"

You'd think this way would be more difficult. There is more to remember but the narratives give him the hooks to remember.

It is a two disk set. One to watch and one for printables.

If someone had told me that we'd spend last night doing multiplication and division flash cards and that DS would be getting them all correct while laughing and smiling, I would've said they were crazy.

Generally he'd be more likely to bury the flash cards in the yard and call it a decomposition experiment.

He understands the concepts of multiplication and division. He just hasn't been able to memorize the facts until now.

Pem, I'd give it a try. I think it might work for her.

The only thing I'd say might be an issue is if a kid is sensitive to something seeming babyish. The characters have a BOB book like quality. DS didn't mind or mention it. He was just so happy to finally be able to remember the facts. I saw a few reviewers mention the babyish complaint on Amazon.

We went ahead and did part two last night. He learned the rest of the facts in 30 min. So in an hour total he memorized 3x6,3x7,3x8,3x9,4x6,4x7,4x8,4x9, 6x6,6x7,6x8,6x9,7x7,7x8,7x9,8x8,8x9,9x9.

He already knew or can quickly figure out the 2s, 5s, 0s, 1s, 10s and 11s.

He can't wait until Monday to show his teacher. He's been working on multiplication for well over a year with limited progress. This has been amazing!

Thank you for your review. I've been considering this for DS7.