Teach Your Child the Multiplication Tables, Fast, Fun & Easy with Dazzling Patterns, Grids and Tricks!

Our Method

Teachhttp://www.outdoor-escapes.com/beta/ Your Child the Multiplication Tables, Fast, Fun and Easy with Dazzling Patterns, Grids and Tricks is intended for:

the teacher with a classroom of students or the teacher,
learning specialist or parent working one-on-one with a student.

This workbook can be used as a primary or supplemental text in the classroom, homeschool or home.

Multiplication is an essential building block of mathematics. A student who has not mastered the times tables has difficulty succeeding in mathematics beyond the third grade. Division, fractions, percentages, decimals and algebra all require a sold foundation in multiplication. Standardized tests are timed. Word problems become more complex. Students cannot get bogged down trying to figure out the answer to 6 times 8 or other such basic multiplication facts. The answer must be retrieved from long-term memory with speed, freeing up the working memory for problem solving. Recall needs to be automatic.

Traditionally, students have struggled to learn the tables through rote memorization. Rote memorization is passive, mechanical and many students find it boring. There is a better way. My method is based on patterns. Discovering patterns is active, creative and engaging. According to Michael Kestner of the Mathematics and Science Partnership Program of the Department of Education in a letter to the author regarding this workbook:

The recognition of patterns is a creative way to have students develop understanding for the concept of multiplication. Pattern analysis should be part of the elementary study in mathematics as it also viewed as foundational skills for algebraic reasoning.

Patterns provide a way to organize. Our brains seem designed to search for patterns. Learning one math fact at a time through rote memorization is highly inefficient. Patterns are efficient because students only have to learn one set of rules which they can apply to the entire table or to numbers with similar properties. The study of these number patterns is known as number theory.

Why not take the opportunity that teaching the multiplication tables provides to give your child or students a head start in math and develop analytical skills necessary for algebra? According to the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, "Students who complete Algebra II are more than twice as likely to graduate from college compared to students with less mathematical preparation."

Strong analytical skills are paramount in science, literature and other disciplines. Developing analytical skills at an early age enhances your child's or studentís academic success.

Math is an adventure. My goal is to instill in your child or student a love of numbers and fascination with math.

Note to Special Needs Teachers and Parents:

Patterns provide structure. Children with ADD/ADHD need structure. ADD/ADHD children have difficulty memorizing the times tables. Patterns work better. Patterns also help autistic children and dyslexic children as they strictly order number sequence. Special needs children can better visualize and recall where a number is placed when they see a pattern. This is true of all children.

The TeaCHildMath method utilizes both left and right-brain strategies to teach multiplication. There are marked differences between children who are left-hemisphere dominant and those who are right dominant. Whereas the left-hemisphere dominant child can construct the whole from parts, the right dominant prefers the big picture, seeing patterns and making connections. The right side is the creative and emotional side of the brain. Special needs children are often right-brain dominant. The TeaCHildMath method utilizes both left and right-brain strategies. Learning becomes easier when both hemispheres are engaged.

The TeaCHildMath Method:

Perform a diagnostic (page 163) to determine which tables your students may already know. Although students may know a few of the tables, start at the beginning of the workbook so that students learn the underlying concepts such as the commutative property of multiplication: 6 x 4 is the same as 4 x 6.

The TeaCHildMath method uses a hundred-square grid (Tables 1 -10) to teach each table. When students see each table in context of the others, they develop a sense of scale. Reinforce learning by having students occasionally count the squares on the grid for a multiplication problem. Example: 5 x 5 = ___. Have students count the 25 squares.

Each table has a pattern. Some students may need extra help connecting the pattern to the multiplication table. Have the student say the entire table out loud while filling in the pattern. For example, while filling in the 8-6-4-2-0 pattern for table 8, have the student say "8 times 1 is 8, 8 times 2 is 16, 8 times 3 is 24" and so on.

Instead of teaching tables 1 through 10 sequentially, the TeaCHildMath method teaches tables for EVEN numbers which are easy to learn before teaching tables for ODD numbers.

The TeaCHildMath Sequence:

Tables 1 and 10. How to multiply by 0.
Tables for EVEN numbers. Tables 2, 4, 6 and 8 have similar patterns that are easy to learn as they all end in some combination of 2-4-6-8-0. These patterns repeat forever.
How to determine whether a number is ODD or EVEN.
The ODD/EVEN rule of multiplication. The product of two factors is always an EVEN number unless both factors are ODD.
Tables for ODD numbers. Tables 5, 9, 3 and 7 are presented in order of increasing difficulty. Starting with the easier tables builds confidence. These tables too have intriguing patterns that repeat forever.
Squaring numbers.
Diagonal patterns. These illustrate the commutative property of the tables.
Double-digit multiplication.
Division without a remainder. Division with a remainder
Word problems of increasing difficulty appear throughout. All word problems have visual clues and a real context such as the circus snack menu. Each is broken down step by step to show students how to solve the problem. By learning these problem-solving strategies, students develop math skills.
Crazy Scramble, Multiplication Bingo, Multiple Mystery and other fun activities reinforce learning. Each page has engaging artwork. Students can color the circus figures or trace the watermarks on the grids.
Included in each lesson are review pages to evaluate progress. These can be used to test your students

Multiplication equations are a bridge to algebra. Most of the multiplication problems in the workbook are written as an equation rather than the traditional vertical multiplication problem:

9
9 x 8 = ____ vs. x 8

By learning to solve multiplication problems written as an equation, students are preparing themselves for algebra.

9 x ___ = 72 is a step toward 9 X = 72.
The ___ represents the unknown factor.

Teach Your Child the Multiplication Tables will give your students the confidence and skills to advance in math. Not only will they have learned the multiplication tables but also the underlying principles of multiplication.

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Since publication of Teach Your Child the Multiplication Tables and the Spanish edition, Enseñe a Su Hijo las Tablas de Multiplicar, Método Fácil, Rápido y Divertido, I have received emails from parents and teachers attesting to the success of my method.

My workbook has been reviewed by California Homeschool News. I have been interviewed by Home Education Magazine. My method has been endorsed by mathematicians and learning specialists.

Please e-mail comments on your child's or classroom's experience with my workbook on the Contact form on this website. Your input will help enrich the learning experience of all children.

If you would like to work with me in obtaining a grant testing the efficacy of my method in the classroom or with special needs children, please e-mail me on the Contact form on this website.

Eugenia Francis

TeaCHildMath
P.0. Box 53216
Irvine, CA 92619-3216