Every teacher knows how critically important fact fluency is. If you don't have a solid foundation of multiplication facts, you are going to seriously struggle to function in 5th-grade multi-digit multiplication and beyond. As a kid, repeated times tests and flashcards just didn't help me AT ALL! My energetic 8-year-old self-needed something much more fun and a lot less stationary. So, memorizing School House Rock Math Songs was how I learned many of my time's tables (3's and 8's were my favorites). Oldies are still goodies in my book but today there are loads of other multiplication songs and raps out there. Mr. DeMaio has some fantastic choices, as does Numberock, both of which have channels available on Youtube. If kids can sing out a song in their heads they can jot down the times tables onto their scratch paper faster than you can say "multi-step/multi-operational word problem". If they practice this enough, those facts start to burn into their long-term memory.
There are other fun ways to master multiplication. The nifty 9's finger trick is an excellent quick reference for 9x1 through 9x10. Recently, I found another finger multiplication strategy for 6-10. My gifted kids were blown away but my struggling students had smoke coming out of their ears, so use your discretion. Not every strategy is a perfect fit. Find what's right for your kids and then give them permission to master it. The more they practice the better they will get.
To help my students along in this process, I compiled all of these tried and tested songs and strategies into a Tes Teach and uploaded it to my google classroom. Here it is https://www.tes.com/lessons/xo_zAtNfNL8scg/multiplication-strategies. It's a great way for students to practice when they have a few extra minutes between assignments or even to review at home.
For speedy multiplication mastery, I highly recommend the online math program, Reflex. Not only does it provide mini-lessons for students to review fact families that need additional practice but it takes the facts that students need to work on and plugs them into interactive games that students love to play. As students make milestones, they open the door to other games and earn items for their little avatar.
Play-learning is the most engaged learning! Never before have I seen such enthusiastic fact fluency practice than when I use Reflex in my classroom. Here is the link. https://www.reflexmath.com/ The Reflex Educator Grant is a wonderful opportunity to see how very effective this program is and is a snap to apply for. My students loved it and grew their fluency through the roof. But don't just take my word for it. Browse the site and get the FACTS for yourself! (SO terribly cheesy, I know...but I just couldn't resist).
