We began by recapping multiplication theory i.e. What does 2 x 5 mean? It means counting the number 2 five times. This is the same as 5 x 2, counting the number 5 two times - all demonstrated physically with cubes first then as dots on the whiteboard.
Over the week they then did a mixture of worksheets, oral questions, online games (we've signed up to education.com as someone organised a cheap HE lifetime deal!) and simply chanting both as facts (2 x 1 is 2, 2 x 2 is 4, etc) and as sequences (2, 4, 6, 8, etc) forwards and backwards as and when fit with our schedule - to give them plenty of practise and repetition in a variety of ways.
These were mainly to do with the 2x and 5x tables since, after a quick verbal quiz, they showed they understood the pattern for multiplying by 10, i.e. the number becomes 1 place value bigger - an easy trick being to put a 0 at the end (language is important here! I made sure not to say "add a zero", since mathematically adding 0 to a number means it stays the same! And I emphasised it's the place value which changes, which is an important building block for when they move onto decimal numbers in the future inshaAllah). They're able to recall/work out the 10x table up to 10 x 12, as well as calculate random whole numbers x 10, e.g. 24 x 10 = 240, 523 x 10 = 5230, etc. at a good speed, mashaAllah.
I printed out a multiplication square each for them each, up to 12 x 12, which I'm planning for them to keep until they memorise all their times tables... So a few years inshaAllah! I glued the square into a piece of coloured card, to help it last longer, and so there's also space to keep a log of which times tables are tested when. When they're able to quickly recall a multiplication fact, they can colour the corresponding square in - so the goal is to have the whole sheet coloured in. By quickly, the aim is for them to have memorised the fact rather than count it out each time, so I guess under 3 seconds? Instantly, ideally! But they're still young so inshaAllah with more repetition over the years, the speed of recall will only increase. (The girls asked me if I knew my times tables to which I said yes... When did I start learning them? Probably at around their age and I remember having a sheet like them at school to colour in too! So how long did it take for me to finish colouring them all in? I suppose around Year 3 or 4? So around 7 or 8? To which they both laughed because why did it take me 3 years just to learn this tiny square of numbers? F then said she'd definitely finish it all before she was 7. Lol. 😂)
You can download the multiplication square we used here, though a quick Google search will probably turn up many others!
As a craft activity to visually represent the multiplication families, we used pony beads to make "bracelets" for the 2x, 3x, 4x and 5x tables. So for the 2x table, they needed to use 2 beads of the same colour together, then 2 beads of a different colour, then 2 beads of a different colour, etc. etc. until they had a chain of 12 sets of 2 beads together. Then I helped them tie the elastic off into a bracelet. For the 3x table they used 3 beads of the same colour together, for the 4x table 4 beads and for the 5x table 5. So they could see visually the difference in size between 12 x 2, 3, 4 and 5 and I showed them how they could use the relevant beads as a kind of number line to help them count the answer to e.g. 3 x 6 or 7 x 5 etc. The activity itself was good fine motor practise as well as a lesson in concentration! M made the 2x, 3x and 4x bracelets in the same amount of time as F took to do the 5x as she kept getting distracted. 😅
We also played some card games to help practise faster recall, similar to the card games we made up for learning the number bonds to 10: Snap, where instead of saying "Snap!" for a matching suit they needed to say the answer to the multiplication fact for the card on top (e.g. if we were practicing the 2x table and the 10 of clubs was played followed by the 4 of clubs, the first person to shout the answer to 2 x 4 and touch the cards would win them), and also just a speed competition whereby I would shuffle the cards then hold up the one on top - the first person to say the answer (for whichever times table we were practising, e.g. if we were doing the 5x table and I held up the 6 of diamonds, the first one to shout "30!") would win the card, the winner being the person with the most cards at the end.
I made a quick worksheet of word problems, based on the 2x, 5x and 10x tables, set in Chuggington - as this is the current favourite TV show for the girls! Using their interests is an easy way to get them excited and keep their focus for a task. 😂
You can download the worksheet here.
Finally, I linked it all to division as the inverse of multiplication, ie 2 x 3 = 6 so 6 ÷2 = 3... demonstrated with physical objects first before using drawings and lastly just number sentences. With this knowledge they were then able to quickly answer missing number problems for multiplication (eg 5 x ? = 35) as well as division problems (18 ÷ 2 = ? 60 ÷ ? = 6) while practising their 2x, 5x and 10x tables at the same time.
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