Does anyone have a Maths Wrap?

liney

http://www.mathswrap.co.uk/maths-corner/how-to-learn-your-times-tables.xhtml

Before I buy, I wondered if anyone had children who have used this at all? Verdict?

juno

I don't have children and haven't used it, but I think it's a load of rubbish. You have the numbers from 1 to 12, then the answers for that particular times table. But children will realise that the answers for times tables get bigger each time - ie 4*3 is bigger than 4*2, but 4*7 will be even larger.

You have to start at 1*whatever, as that's how the string works. So oooh, just find the lowest number. Then you just want the next biggest number. And so on. All it is is an exercise in putting numbers in size order.

The complication of times tables is that each one could be any possible combination of numbers, and you just need to know which one. So 4*3 could be 10 or 11 or 12 or even 363. But if you're only given the option and told "this is one of the answers" it makes it much easier.

I think it's the kind of thing that might work the first few times, but after that will become useless. It's the kind of thing that I can see as being an alternative to a calculator as a pocket aid - you can get your Maths Wrap out and look up the answers. But then it's limited to whatever sheet you have in at the time, doesn't teach the child anything, and a list or calculator would be more useful.

System

You should have stopped reading after the learn by rote section.

Drill it in to them so they have it for life and do not have to rely on aids.

bylromarha

It was something I looked at when I was maths co-ordinator. Decided it was too complicated to use in a classroom, but may be helpful for a few kids or small groups.

If your child is a kinesthetic learner, then this may help.

There are other things you can do whilst learning times tables though. I'm working with a kid at the moment who can't count in 10s if she's sitting still or using her fingers, if we're striding on the playground she has no problems remembering at all.

liney

!!!!!! wrote: »

You should have stopped reading after the learn by rote section.

Drill it in to them so they have it for life and do not have to rely on aids.[/QUOTE]

Sorry but I think that's abit of a silly statement. People use 'aids' for all sorts of things when they are learning a new skill, from stablisers on a bike to paired reading, to touch typing coloured programmes and numbering keys for music. It does not mean they have rely on aids after learning has taken place.

I don't imagine my son will have use for this in 10 years time

liney

bylromarha wrote: »

It was something I looked at when I was maths co-ordinator. Decided it was too complicated to use in a classroom, but may be helpful for a few kids or small groups.

If your child is a kinesthetic learner, then this may help.

There are other things you can do whilst learning times tables though. I'm working with a kid at the moment who can't count in 10s if she's sitting still or using her fingers, if we're striding on the playground she has no problems remembering at all.

That is why it caught my attention to be honest. As a toddler he started drawing in sand, not with crayons. Lego is his favorite thing at the moment.

As a fiddler I thought this might be attractive to be used in addition to traditional methods. I understand that there is a degree of educated guessing involved but surely this would just re-inforce the answers and not be detrimental?

Becles

liney wrote: »

Lego is his favorite thing at the moment.

You can teach tables with Lego.

Play games like giving him 15 bricks and telling him to sort them into groups of three. Then you can show him 5 x 3 = 15. You can also work it backwards and learn division at the same time.

I taught my boys like that and they just thought it was a fun game and didn't really realise it was a lesson

liney

Becles wrote: »

You can teach tables with Lego.

Play games like giving him 15 bricks and telling him to sort them into groups of three. Then you can show him 5 x 3 = 15. You can also work it backwards and learn division at the same time.

I taught my boys like that and they just thought it was a fun game and didn't really realise it was a lesson

Good idea. I'm looking to aquire a bunch of methods to throw at him in the hope he can learn most by the time he goes into KS2 in September.

Any other suggestions most welcome, thanks.

Lunar_Eclipse

If a child can learn their tables quickly by rote, great. Ultimately however, they need to be learnt accurately and recalled quickly, so I'm all for creative methods if they engage the child in a more positive and enjoyable experience that speeds up this learning process (because they seem to be used daily for Maths from Y3 onwards.)

We used a CD with eldest (Times Tables Tunes, bought on Amazon for £3) as she is quite musical and if she couldn't instantly recall her multiplication facts from rote learning, she could get the right answer by recalling the tune in her head (each tables had a different tune; I can still hum they all know!)

I also bought a wooden block from Habitat because I thought my youngest would find this kinesthetic tool a more enjoyable way to learn them. It's basically a square that contains a grid of smaller wooden cubes with the tables written on them eg 1x2, next one 2x2 etc going across or down (and I wrote the answers on the back so she could pick them up and check if she was right.) She seemed to know her tables without really learning them though (probably via the CD DD1 had) but did occasionally use the wooden blocks before Maths tests, for revision purposes.

She also played some games on the internet (eg Alien Maths) as she loves computers and computer games. I have friends who bought iPhone apps!

My kids were given a 'new' table to learn every week as part of homework in the first term of Y3. So I encouraged them by suggesting a few different tools to use so they could spend say 5 minutes a day for a few days of the week learning them. And then occasionally going over them during that year.

Nothing painful in our house, but I do know of kids who have taken years to learn them. In these cases, I think the method usually didn't fit the child.

Savvy_Sue

My mother has lent me a knitting magazine (so that I can solve the competition for her), and there's a picture of a knitted maths blanket in there, I shall try to find a link for it later.

Meanwhile, I found this page. there might be something you could knit to help with tables?

SkipE

My parents put a poster of times tables on the back of the toilet door. As a child there was not much else to do in there other than read them over and over again. Even now all three of us can recall our times tables.