Multiplication Linky Party

Adrienne over at Wiggins World is having a multiplication linky party.  I thought I would share a couple of things that I have done to help my students learn their facts.

I like to practice their facts on a mat that I made that is similar to Twister.  I made my mat using a plastic tablecloth from the party store. It is a lot like my spelling kinesthetic game that I use and have blogged about before.  Anyway---I have two kiddos line up facing the mat and then a third student calls out a fact using flashcards or whatever.  The students try to be the first one to find the product.  The first one that finds it puts their left foot on it.  The game continues until one player has placed his left foot, right foot, left hand, right hand.  Kind of fun.  The kids like it for sure.  I don't have a current picture of my mat in use, but below is an image of what it kind of looks like.

My students also like this game.  3 players.  Two players have a stack of cards in front of them (No face cards).  The two players each pick up a card and place it on their forehead (number out) without looking at it themselves.  They can only see the other guy's card.  The third player multiplies the two numbers in his head and says the product aloud.  The first of the two players with the card on their head to say what number their own card must say is the winner of that round.  This game is especially good as students move into division and to reinforce fact families.

On the web, my students like to use Sumdog.com to practice their facts.  (It is awesome!)  When they are practicing a certain family, the best place to go, they go to multiplication.com.  It offers a variety of games where the kids can really focus on just one family if they wish.

Finally,  my students still love good old-fashioned mad minutes.  We do a lot of things to help reinforce the concept of multiplication so that they understand it, but to get them to really have rapid recall of the facts, timed tests are still the best in my book.  The kids like the challenge of it, too.  I structure it differently every year, and I totally differentiate by giving some students a reduced number of problems, giving some kids division facts, by giving some extension facts (40 x 60...), and whatever else it takes to challenge some and to make others feel successful.

Hope these ideas help you out!  Can't wait to get some new ones!

People Numbers

As part of our study of place value, I do a kinesthetic activity all year which seems to help everyone "get it" a little better. 

I have digits written on construction paper and laminated:  One number per piece of construction paper.  I also have a piece with a comma that says thousand, a comma that says million, and a decimal point that says and. 

I pass out the digits, commas, and decimal point randomly to students.  Then I make up a number and tell the class.  As I say the number, students with corresponding digits go to the front of the room to make the number. They line up and form the number for us by holding the card in front of their chest so we can see it.  I usually let them collaborate some, but I really want them to do some independent thinking.  It helps me to see who is still struggling with the concept.  Once they think they are set, I have another student who didn't have a digit, read us the number. This is good practice for them as well.

After we are done with that number, students hand out their digits to classmates who don't have one, and we start the whole process all over again.

Sometimes, when they have the number made,  I will say "Let's reduce this number by 20,000."  (or something like that)  Then students have to figure out who is affected by this change and who would come take their place.  It is a pretty good activity that we use all year long!

Kinesthetic Spelling

For a number of years, I have used this idea to practice our spelling words.  I use it sometimes in stations, or I have an individual at the SMARTBoard and one on the mat to practice the same word.

I have a couple of them, and they were so easy and cheap to make!  I used plastic tablecloths from the party store and then wrote the alphabet on them.  When the word is said, the children say the letters in the word aloud and move to it on the mat.

I made similar ones for multiplication facts.  They are set up differently as the numbers are randomly placed on the mat.  I have the kids go against each other in this format.  It is more like Twister.

It is a great way to help some of the kids get some extra movement in!