Methods of Multiplication for the Mind

I remember learning multiplication in 3rd and 4th grade and having to do those dreaded time tables! Then, after time tables. we had to move on to two digit number multiplication! I remember only learning one way to do multiplication tables and that was the old fashioned long way of multiplying. Like you just saw in the video, this is the method I believe most of us learned, but I'm going to talk about other ways to multiply double digit numbers!

Here is a problem solved in the standard way:

Now there are many ways to solve this and not use the standard method! 

First there is a method called the Lattice Method of Multiplication. After learning more about this method, I realized that this is a very easy method to catch on to and teach! Learn how to do it in this short video! The Lattice Method I wish that I would have been exposed to this method as an elementary student! I believe that this method is simple and easy to understand! It is also a method you could use to help you check your answers and make sure they are correct!

Another method I believe is pretty cool, but a little more complicated to me, is the Russian Peasant Method of Multiplication. This method I believe takes more work than it should. If you don't know what I am talking about here is a short video example -> Russian Method. I think this method takes more thinking than need and I also believe it is more time consuming!

Overall, there are more methods for multiplying, but here are a few you might not have known about! Teaching and learning multiple ways to do a single math problem is important because you might not know what works best for you!

Standards, oh joy!

Today, it feels like there is so much pressure on students and school teachers to prepare their students for the basic test standards and benchmarks they should pass. As you can see, Minnesota Educational Standards has lists of where the benchmarks and standards are for each grade in each subject. Future and current teachers are expected to teach their students enough for them to reach these marks! That is a lot of pressure for one teacher that has to teach 20+ students enough for them to retain the information and for them to test up to the standards!

Here is a video talking about the common core standards:

 

I feel like there are a lot of different opinions about how testing and standards play a role into how children are actually learning! I was able to be a volunteer helper in a kindergarten class for a couple weeks this past month. This happened to be around the time when they were preparing for the Minnesota State tests at each level. I was able to go with the kindergarteners to the computer lab and observe them taking the math test! Do you want to know what blew me away the most?! Basically EVERY SINGLE CHILD was able to do the problem presented on the screen every time, but the problem was that they could not TYPE IT IN! I felt helpless when the students were raising their hands and saying I don’t know how to do this yet I knew that they actually knew the answer. I felt like it was more a test of their computer skills then their actual math skills.

Standards, in my opinion are very essential to keep students up to date and competitive with other students around the world. I like the fact that students are tested on content that they will need to know for the future and the testing will actually help their retention as well. I do not like that fact that there is so much pressure on these standardized tests that a lot of the time, teachers forget to teach other subjects and life lessons. In my opinion, subjects such as art, physical education, music, and such are just as important for a child as is math and reading.