Back a few years ago when I taught Grade 3 before, I would leave the concepts of multiplication and division until May and June to work on. That frustrated everyone, as the students were preparing for the big provincial achievement exams and the new learning was not solid yet for them to feel comfortable and do their best. So now, I introduce the concept to them early, in November.....
and nothing gets 'dummied down'...the students are shown the different strategies that can be used to arrive at the product when two factors are multiplied. (Like the use of the correct vocabulary? It's important that the students understand it, because that is the vocabulary that will be used in algebra in Jr. High...better to start early!)
They know the different properties and can tell you rules such as:
- a number multiplied by zero always has a product of zero.
- a number multiplied by one has a product of that number.
-multiplying by a factor of two is the same as doubling.
-multiplying by a factor of five is the same as counting by fives.
-multiplying by a factor of ten is the same as counting by tens.
The trick is knowing the products so that you don't have to count to figure out the product.
(That is the same as saying....you need to memorize the times tables)
The students DO need to know their times tables by the end of the school year. You have all the rest of the school year to work on this. The students all understand the concept. They now need to put in the time to know their times tables. That will be accomplished at home.
Our little Snowflake was so sweet on Thursday. She sharpened all the pencils in the blunt jar and left every student a nice sharp pencil at their work space.
On Friday, she showed up in this little cupcake outfit. Turns out that Santa loves to send elves to help children celebrate their birthdays, but they need to write a note to ask for permission for the elf to come for 24 hours.
Here's our little birthday girl!
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