We started this week by revisiting our multiplication time tables. The kids worked in partnerships to take a closer look at one particular table and find patterns and strategies that might benefit the rest of the class when solving these problems. For instance...
The tens always have an answer that ends with 0.
The fives always have a answer that ends with either 5 or 0.
The sevens are like touchdowns in football - 7, 14, 21, 28....
To multiply by 8 you can multiply by 4 and then double it.
There were many, many patterns and strategies to be found. Following this study I attempted to teach the kids a strategy for multiplying a two-digit number by a one-digit number. As always I had carefully thought about what I would say and how I would lead them into "discovering" how this type of problem works. The plan was to begin by teaching them to solve a problem such as 48 x 5 by multiplying 8x5, then 40x5, and then adding these two together. However, exactly three minutes in everything fell apart. I looked around and noticed wrinkled foreheads and blank faces. It was clear that it was not going well.
Working the crowd I quickly found out that I hadn't given them all they needed to be successful. They were really good when multiplying by 10 but didn't know how to multiply by 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, or 90. Oops! We quickly backed up and addressed this. So Wednesday and Thursday were spent learning how all we know about multiplying by ten works with other multiples of ten as well. After some time working these problems the vast majority of the kids were far more comfortable and ready to tackle those problems from the beginning of the week.
We're now working on these problems and will continue to do so into next week. Once we feel comfortable enough to move on Mrs. Mayer will be launching us into an exploration of Geometry. There will be lots of fun "hands-on" activities designed to help the kids construct new knowledge and understanding of lines, shapes, and angles. We can't wait!
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