Tips for Teaching A Child Multiplication
The leap from learning addition and subtraction to multiplication and division is a daunting task for young students and tutors. The biggest challenge is that students have a shorter time to learn the latter than the former. Tutors have a hard time developing strategies to ease the burden of learning multiplication. The century-old technique of coercing children to memorize the times table is intimidating and ineffective. Here are a few tips for teaching multiplication.
Basics First
It is essential that the child masters the basics before attempting multiplication. Avoid starting with memorization because it can lead to the fear of the multiplication table. The simplest means is to relate multiplication to addition — an operation that the student should already be comfortable with.
Your child should know that multiplication is repeated addition.
For example:
2 x 2 is similar to 2 + 2
or
3 x 3 is similar to 3 + 3+ 3
Start with Zeros and Ones
Your students should already be aware that adding a zero to a number (n + 0) has no effect. Next, explain that in multiplication, a number multiplied by zero is zero (n x 0) = 0. Secondly, explain to the student that any number multiplied by 1 is the number itself (n x 1) = n.
Teaching Times Tables Strategies
It is best to introduce the times table once you are confident that the student has mastered the concept of multiplication, lest they memorize the table without the knowledge. Start with what the students already know, i.e., numbers multiplied by 1 and 0. The standard chart is the most appropriate for elementary students. Most times tables resemble the one below. When a digit in the far left is multiplied with a digit at the top, the result is where the two converge.
For example:
1 x 1 = 1, 4 x 4 = 16, 7 x 7 = 49 and 11 x11 = 121 . . .
