Make up rhymes for students to memorize so that they know how to solve multiplication equations. An equation-and-solution rhyme is a rhyme that talks about a multiplication function and answer. An example of an equation and solution rhyme is "I told you once, I'll tell you more: four times six is 24." The section of the rhyme about "four times six" represents the equation or function and the answer "24" is given so students learn the solution. Another example is "A cookie for me, a cookie for you: seven times six is 42."
Team up students into pairs or small groups and instruct each group to come up with the first half of a rhyme that does not tell the answer to the equation. For instance, an example of the first half of the rhyme would be, "Red, white, green, blue: eight times nine is..." The answer is left out intentionally. After the teams have created their partial rhymes they exchange rhymes with another team. The object of this activity or game is for the teams to solve the other teams' rhymes. So, in the example, "Red, white, green, blue: eight times nine is..." the answer is 72. After filling in the blanks or solving the equations, the teams exchange rhymes again and create more.
The multiplication ball bounce game is a game in which students stand in a circle with the teacher and the teacher holds onto a rubber bouncy ball. The teacher starts a multiplication problem by saying, "Six times three is..." and then bounces the ball to a student in the circle. The student who catches the ball must complete the equation by giving the answer. If the answer is correct, the student has to come up with his own equation, and bounce the ball to another student in the circle. Students who do not answer the equation correctly must sit out of the game. The last student standing wins.
A multiplication race is a game where the teacher creates two teams of students who must compete against each other to answer multiplication questions the fastest. The two teams line up behind a writing board in the front of the classroom. The two students standing in front of either line approach the board and receive a multiplication equation to write out and solve. The teacher reads the equation, such as "Six times eight is..." and the student who writes the answer the fastest wins the point. Then the next student in line from that team approaches the board and the competition continues.