Fact fluency with both addition and multiplication is a foundational skill that will help students be successful not only in your classroom, but throughout their entire academic career. This is why allowing students to practice multiplication facts in your classroom is vital to their success in math. In order to this, and do it well, you will need to incorporate a variety of different methods for them to practice.
Practice that gives immediate feedback
Students learn best when they are given immediate feedback, either from you or through self-checking activities. With digital learning becoming so prevalent this year, I have developed Boom Cards for multiplication fluency facts. By using these, you can provide immediate feedback for your students at home, when you aren’t available. If you are teaching in person or will be throughout the next school year, Boom Cards are also perfect for reviewing multiplication facts with your students. You can assign them through Google classroom if you are a one-to-one school or complete them together as a class. Put your students in teams and have them compete. I have found that my students thrive with a little healthy competition. Click here to visit Math with Marneshia on TPT for more multiplication and addition fact fluency boom cards.
Practice multiplication using Fact Sprints
No matter how long I teach math, I will always incorporate fact sprints into my classroom. Fact sprints involve giving students a set number of problems to complete and a specific amount of time to complete them in. In my class, I typically set a timer for 3 minutes. During those three minutes, students complete as many multiplication problems as possible accurately. There are several reasons I enjoy fact sprints so much. First, students learn that they are not competing with each other, they are simply trying to increase their knowledge and improve each time. Also, as students complete the same set of problems over time, they can see their own success. It helps them build confidence and pushes them to work harder.
Another reason I love fact sprints is that you can easily differentiate based on students’ levels. Often you will have students who fly through their fact sprint and need something more challenging. Other students may take longer learning each skill. Because fact sprints are individual, each student can work at their own pace and their own level.
Partner Practice
Many students learn best when they learn together. By strategically putting students into partners, you can maximize the time students spend practicing math facts in the classroom. There are an endless variety of activities students can complete as partners. While I often use timed fluency with my students to practice facts, I never use speed as a criteria when students are working in pairs or as a group. I want all of my students to practice their facts, not just the fastest few.
One of my absolute favorites is multiplication war. This game requires no prep and very few supplies. All you need is a deck of cards for each pair of students. Students draw two cards and multiply them. The partner with the highest value keeps all the cards. If you have younger students, this is also a great way to practice addition facts. My students love this game!
While this is by no means an exhaustive list of multiplication practice activities, these are the ones I have found to be fun and effective with my students. If you would like to start these activities in your math block, but don’t know where to start, download my free Math Centers Planner HERE or on the image below.
