Continual Repetition - How do we get better at anything? We keep doing it!
How will I get better?
There are lots of ways to develop your understanding and speed of recall of times tables and it does very much depend on the style of learner you are. Some people like to learn them by heart or rote, while others may prefer to play games and activities or take part in challenges to sharpen up their speed of recall. The times tables form an active part of most lesson starters in one way or another, and are transferable into an 'array' of mathematical problem solving tasks. Indeed it's noted that children with a good knowledge of the times tables can apply this to problem solving more readily, and therefore tend to solve them at a quicker rate and with greater accuracy.
With the UK government looking to introduce testing at the age of 11, http://www.bbc.com/news/education-35216318 how can we prepare our children to develop their own tables recall? There were also other articles that discuss how to help children to develop their tables, they make good read but the links within them are sadly a little dated. (I've linked more activities below however) http://www.theguardian.com/education/teacher-blog/2013/apr/29/times-tables-teaching-resource http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/9355005/Numeracy-campaign-How-to-master-multiplication-tables-for-children.html Online Activities
There are a whole host of online games that are available to play, and these really do push and challenge the children to respond and develop through the pressure and competitive elements of games. Below are a pick of my (and my classes over the years) personal favourites to get you started!
I'm a huge fan of the Manga High games and if they subscribe, they have a whole load of resources and activities on a range of maths based subjects to work from... https://www.mangahigh.com/en/
Formal Worksheets
If you're into a more formal method of working out, then again there are a whole host of books and activities that develop multiplication by repetition and varied activities out there. Andrew Brodie 's books are generally well thought of and can be downloaded as ebooks here http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/education/for-parents/times-table/# or bought from bookstores such as Borders.
No one quite does mental maths like Countdowns finest, who also has a raft of age appropriate material to work through - http://www.dk.com/uk/carol-vorderman/ There's a great interactive book from Dk here https://itun.es/gb/UjfeG.n But it doesn't stop with these, there are loads of books and activities out there to get and use, there really are a whole range of opportunities to develop your child's knowledge with a few minutes of work everyday. You can also go online and get a plethora of ideas and written activities to do. http://www.multiplication.com/resources/worksheets http://www.multiplication.com/resources/tests-and-quizzes While here you can create your own Printable PDF sheets to fill out
You can even find some self-correcting formal quizes online.
http://www.multiplication.com/quiz/multiplication-self-correcting-quizzes
Below are four examples of resources that the children could have on paper or play...
There's an App for that...
You won't be entirely surprised that multiplication games (and general mental maths games) are rife in app format, and that children enjoy playing them. Even in the days of the Nintendo DS, where you could link devices and set challenges, interactivity and the challenge of playing against a peer or just beating your best time is a great motivator. So in place of playing Minecraft (although actually that can be great..) maybe set a daily challenge on a maths app BEFORE they get their own games played.
Again, here are a few of my suggestions below, but really, there are literary hundreds out there...
If you find some of your own, or have a great app you would like to share with us, let us know in the comments!
Rote Learning or Musical...
Good old fashioned chanting... it's worked for many years before. There are also a good range of musical alternatives to listen to in the car on the way into school, if you can bear it...
Search in iTunes or Amazon for the downloads. And then.. There are these...
14 Comments
Sam Evans
2/15/2016 04:48:24 am
I found that good
Reply
Ulfa And Nour
2/24/2016 01:02:09 am
It encouraged me to learn my Times Tables!!!!
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Jaden And Ulfa
2/24/2016 02:23:01 am
These songs are fun to listen to!!!!
Reply
Annabel Jackson
2/28/2016 05:17:35 am
I really liked playing these math games and I think I learnt a lot from this. Thank you for setting this up.
Reply
Claudia
2/28/2016 07:21:18 pm
Those songs really help you with your times tables! And they are really FUN to listen to!
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zara
2/28/2016 09:11:48 pm
I really like these songs
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zara.r
2/29/2016 05:46:03 am
These songs are really fun to listen to !!!
Reply
zara.r
2/29/2016 05:47:58 am
I have learned my 7 and 8 times tables
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fldasjfhlakjdfhalkdjf
3/3/2016 03:58:01 am
Hello i found your amazing blog and just wanted to praise you for getting the lovely students involved
Reply
Maria
5/9/2016 09:47:44 pm
I cant get those songs out of my head but I still love them so much!!! I have watched all of them and later on at home Im going to watch all of them all over again plus it is very good for our learning to.
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Jacqueline
5/16/2016 08:45:07 pm
Awesome !Amazing ! That is bloomin' clever teachers!
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Mariam h
5/16/2016 08:45:17 pm
I learnt a lot of my 6 times tables and 2
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Orlagh Traynor
5/16/2016 08:45:53 pm
The songs really helped me in my times tables .
Reply
Jacqueline
5/16/2016 08:47:03 pm
Awesome! Amazing! That is bloomin' clever teachers!
Reply
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