Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 27, 2008 - 19:33.
I share your concern for students' learning of basic math facts and skills. I'd be nowhere, mathematically if I hadn't learned the multiplication table. I face the same problem teaching music - how to get the students to learn to read all their notes and rhythms and play scales and exercises that build technique. The solution some music teachers have turned to is to make games and activities to get the students to do the tasks that might seem like drudgery, but that have to be done. If they have games and contests to name and play notes, and speed drills on scales, most kids really get into it. The same thing works for math facts. Some of the classroom teachers I've worked with have used "Mad math minutes", where students fill in grids of multiplication tables with rows or columns in different orders, writing as fast as they can, to see how many they can do in one, two or three minutes. I can prove it works by all the ridiculous things that TV game shows get people to do, or the hours and hours kids spend mastering complex video games.
Make learning basic math equations fun
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on March 27, 2008 - 19:33.
I share your concern for students' learning of basic math facts and skills. I'd be nowhere, mathematically if I hadn't learned the multiplication table. I face the same problem teaching music - how to get the students to learn to read all their notes and rhythms and play scales and exercises that build technique. The solution some music teachers have turned to is to make games and activities to get the students to do the tasks that might seem like drudgery, but that have to be done. If they have games and contests to name and play notes, and speed drills on scales, most kids really get into it. The same thing works for math facts. Some of the classroom teachers I've worked with have used "Mad math minutes", where students fill in grids of multiplication tables with rows or columns in different orders, writing as fast as they can, to see how many they can do in one, two or three minutes. I can prove it works by all the ridiculous things that TV game shows get people to do, or the hours and hours kids spend mastering complex video games.