Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion speed issues, help me understand

The difficulty with memorizing multiplication facts is basically one of storing a large amount of precise (3x4=12 and not 11 or 13) information and retrieving it very quickly. But storing them haphazardly means you won't know where to look for them when you need to.
When my son had great difficulty memorizing them, I developed a method where I first reduced the number of facts to memorize to a minimum; for example, did you know there are only 3 facts to memorize in the 7 times table, 2 facts in the 8 times table? Then I provided him a visual map of each table that he could store in memory in an organized fashion, so that retrieval is as easy as checking the internal map for that table and seeing the answer. The method works as well with gifted kids and adults as it does with those who have dyslexia or other learning difficulties. I published the method in See and Learn Multiplication By Heart (ISBN 9780973320916). Sold on Amazon, check it out, you will never need another method. Everyone can learn their facts by heart easily without stress and endless practice.

Also, my DD learned the facts in a snap but loves all the "tricks" that are out there. She just finds them cool, and is always trying to find her own. This could be an approach--a little tag to hang your memory hat on. (Eg, if you know that the digits in all numbers divisible by 9 must add to 9, you might more quickly remember that 8 x 9 is 72, not 75.)

awesome! i made a table like this for DD5 a few weeks ago and we intuitively did the first few steps of the pdf - but there's SO MUCH in here that is right up her pattern-loving street. thank you thank you, ZS!!

(she said, inching toward the homeschooling inevitability...there, i finally said it!)

Multiplication tables are such a miniscule amount of stuff to memorize compare to, say, your vocabulary. Just memorize it. It's nothing. And it's much more efficient to remember these basic facts so they are instantly available instead of having to recalculate them each time. Recalculating 7X8 each time, is like recalculating how to spell "the" each time you need it.

Of course there are patterns. To get the times tables from 0 to 9 (or any range) just start with the times tables from 0 to 1, i.e.
X|01
0|00
0|01
and then just extend it by noting that every row and column is an arithmetic progression, (and then just remember the whole thing).

My son figured out all the products using repeated addition, so then he knew the times table, before knowing what one was.

So there are patterns, and you should initally calculate it all, and make sense of it, but ultimately get it crystalized in memory for instant recall.

I have a very verbal DS. He hated learning his times tables until I introduced Memorize in Minutes The Times Tables. He couldn't get enough of the program. Basically, it is a storybook of multiplication facts. As soon as I would finish one math fact story, he would beg for another. He learned them in record time with this method.

After learning them we switched to TimesAttacks and that really helped him with speed.

I don't think memorizing math facts is anything at all the same type of function as incorporating new vocabulary into your language bank, and I do think that forcing kids to memorize them before they are developmentally ready just results in a lot of extra work and frustration. I saw that with two of my kids - they had to try to learn to regurgitate them quickly in school before they were really developmentally ready and it was a lot of work to memorize them, the "tricks" still took them a lot of mental effort, and the facts didn't really stick. A few years later, when they were ready, it just happened and became very easy. Both of these children had no issues at all with acquiring new vocabulary from a very young age.

polarbear

Interestingly, my DD, who is a whiz with math facts and anything of that sort (state capitals, location of countries...anything straight memorization) and also a fantastic speller, doesn't score as highly on vocabulary as one would expect. I mean, it's not terrible, but considering her other skills, it's a bit of a weakness. Low 90s, percentile wise, when she takes a standardized test; other scores are higher. (shrug) I would say vocabulary is a higher level skill in a lot of ways.

Kids are funky and brains are interesting. Her GT class was all over the place with math fact fluency. Some were like my daughter and others really struggled with it. This is in a class where some children have major math talent.

Thanks all. The issue is that DS wanted to work on factoring and working more with fractions. He realized that he really needed to master his multiplication tables in order to do this more easily. He is also working on a subject acceleration for next year and wants to work on the tables so that he can be the top of the NEW class. (He is already very competitive which is hilarious given that DH and I are super laid back.)

Ah, then for just setting down the memories... running through skip counting on a regular basis, looking for real world opportunities to multiply any two numbers together, even doing multiplication while on a walk or in a car can all help. Sitting in one room staring at a piece of paper doing brute force memorization works for some subset of people who seem to think it should be as easy as breathing for everyone else. Others need additional tools to be effective.