Many students are able to memorize most of the multiplication tables but find themselves getting stumped on a few difficult problems. Invent a creative visual story for your students to visualize that will offer them clues to the correct answer. For example, many students struggle with the problem 7x7. Sketch a picture of a hill profile with two 7s walking up the hill. Put a soldier's hat on each. Tell students the story that these two soldiers are in charge of litter control on the hill. They dig a little hole in the hill to hide out and watch for perpetrators. To make the hole, erase the top portion of the hill and draw a "4" into the side of the hill creating a profile of a hole for the soldiers to hide. The soldiers put a flag next to the hole to remind passersby that America is a beautiful country. Draw the number "9" next to the hole and decorate it as the American flag. When students see 7x7, they will think of the soldiers hiding in the hole, 4, next to the flag, 9, and remember the answer is 49.
Playing games helps motivate students to improve their skills and become more successful with the game. Wash and dry an empty egg carton. Write the numbers 2 through 9 in the cubbies of the carton, repeating the number 6 though 9 in two cubbies. Your students can place two pebbles in the egg carton, close the carton and shake it to see which two numbers the stones landed in. The two numbers must be multiplied together. Pass the egg carton to a partner. This partner follows the same procedure to determine his product. The partner with the larger product is the winner of the round.
For a second game, give each partner a sheet of graph paper with squares at least one centimeter squared. Students must write the numbers 2 through 9 in the squares, one number per square. When the paper is filled, students take turns tossing two dried beans onto the paper. Multiply the numbers the beans land on. The winner of the round is the student with the highest product.
Computer games that offer multiplication practice can be purchased at educational stores, but free, quality games are available online. The site funbrain.com offers the game Multiplication Baseball; choose Math Baseball (see Resources) and then the "multiplication" option. Students are able to choose the level of difficulty they are ready to practice. The computer will "pitch" an equation to the batter. If the answer entered is correct, the computer will celebrate the hit and assign how far the batter can go around the bases. If the answer is incorrect, the computer will announce a strike. Students can review multiplication tables while setting their own baseball record and challenging themselves or a partner to beat their baseball score.
Music is a memorization technique many find success with. Using the tune of a song your child enjoys, sing the multiplication tables together. Repeat this song often until the lyrics and multiplication tables are committed to memory. Teacher supply stores and online educational websites offer CDs with multiplication music that your child may enjoy listening to on her own at home or in the car. Optionally, download a song available online that other teachers have found successful for their students (see Resources).