Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy Lunar New Year!
When I was in school I loved when the holidays were incoporated into our lessons of the day.  To me they were exciting and intriguing because it not only promoted learning in the classroom, but it promted children of the many cultures to come up and speak about that special holiday. This new year is the year of the pig and some of the characteristics that it symbolizes is hard working, trusting, and indulgent.  These are some characteristics that can be inspiring to students when learning multiplication.  For some students multiplication or overall math can be intimidating to them, but by incorporating fun and holiday activities into the curriculum it creates a creative and interactive classroom.

As an educator I would want my students mental math to be improving I would play a game with my students as my father did me and I would call out multiplication questions.  I too would turn it into a game so my students and I can play and constantly play with it throughout the day until school year is over.  Once I feel confident that my students can identify some of the numbers, I would give them a multiplication worksheet.  It would be a worksheet based off the Chinese New Year Holiday.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.A.4Determine the unknown whole number in a multiplication or division equation relating three whole numbers. For example, determine the unknown number that makes the equation true in each of the equations 8 × ? = 48, 5 = _ ÷ 3, 6 × 6 = ?

Students would be encouraged to use their mental math, but after an alotted time has passed, I would provide students with a multiplication chart for students because mental math can be difficult depending on which numbers are being multiplied

Mental Mania

This week I want to continue my focus with multiplication.  I remember when I was smaller growing up my dad constantly made me learn my multiplication tables.  I had to learn them from numbers one through twelve and I found it fun because he made a game out of it.  I could be playing with toys or reading a book and he would pop out of nowhere and say, "What’s 5 x 5=?" and I would smile and say twenty-five. Because it was a game, I would try to catch my father as well, but he was always faster at it than me because he was older.  Due to him telling me to memorize the multiplication table I was able to strengthen my mental math, wo when a problem was presented to me I was able to produce an answer on the spot rather than writing it down on paper.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.A.1

Interpret products of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 5 × 7 as the total number of objects in 5 groups of 7 objects each. For example, describe a context in which a total number of objects can be expressed as 5 × 7.

First Step Multiplication

While researching I found many parents stating that there second graders are coming home with multiplication problems and they are not understanding why because when they were in school they didn't begin multiplication until they were definetly in the fourth grade and/or maybe the ending of the third grade.  So I went researching knowing and discovering that sutdents begin learning about multiplication from when they are in Kindergarten. Kindergarteners and first graders don't call it mutliplicatiion, but grouping.  I found a worksheet that teachers can use inorder to help their students.

I retrived this worksheet from http://www.gialdiniworld.com/kindergarten-multiplication-worksheets/introduction-to-multiplication-guruparents-kindergarten-multiplication-worksheets/