Certain tools can help teachers engage math classes.
Math is not typically known as one of the more "fun" subjects in elementary school. It can be exceptionally difficult to teach children the concepts of simple arithmetic, let alone multiplication and division. Using games and creative activities in the classroom can help you engage your classes in the multiplication process.
Cookie Math
Positive reinforcement is an important motivator for many learners, especially children. Use "cookie math" with your students after teaching the multiplication tables in order to demonstrate math problems. Bake chocolate chip cookies with your students. Instead of placing the chocolate chips in the dough, bake the cookies plain and flat. After baking, use the chips to write numbers on top of the cookies. Also, prepare cookies with a multiplication sign and an equals sign. (Be prepared with enough chips depending on the size of your class.) When the cookies cool, have a contest using them. Model your activity by setting up an equation with two cookies and the mathematical signs. The student who offers the correct answer to your cookie equation will win one of the cookies.
Repeated Addition
Learning math can be a frustrating experience for children because the concepts may be difficult to grasp. Using a concept that your students already understand -- addition -- may help them learn multiplication faster and more efficiently. Teaching multiplication as "repeated addition" can speed up the learning process. In other words, help your students understand that another way of looking at the problem 5x3 is 5+5+5. Doing so will help you teach the concept of multiplication to your students. Focusing on repeated addition, however, becomes more difficult as the integers of your equation increase.
Games
Games can be both fun and educational. Multiplication is full of opportunities for games. One such game is the "What's Your Number?" game. Have each student wear a flash card with an unanswered equation taped to his shirt. Students cannot call each other by their real names; they must refer to each other as the answers to their respective equations. Begin by asking one student a conversational question. After he responds, he will call on another student (using the answer to the equation on the student's shirt) to answer another question. Continue until all students have participated. Another option for a multiplication game is a variation on the classic card game War. Remove all the face cards from a deck of cards, then shuffle it. Have two students draw one card each. The first to say the value when the two numerical cards are multiplied keeps the cards. The student with the most cards at the end wins the game.
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