How to Master Multiplication and Have Fun Along the Way

My third graders are most excited to learn "Big Kid" stuff....like how to write in cursive and how to multiply.  Actually, they start excited and then begin to realize that both can be challenging if you are not willing to put in the time to practice.  I have heard it said that "practice is the mother of skill". I would have to agree.  So we are practicing up a storm as we work on mastering multiplication. 

I'm always on the hunt to find resources to make what could be tedious practice more fun and engaging. I hit the jackpot with the book, Mastering the Basic Math Facts in Multiplication and Division. 

It is by far my favorite go to book for strategies and activities to help my students "move beyond the memorization of the multiplication facts".  I love, love love this resource! It includes all that you need to make moving through the facts engaging and meaningful.  There are literature connections for each set of multiples, real life application activities and games to reinforce the learning.  

 Our math standards focus on using models to represent the facts.  Using the set, array and number line models help to reinforce the idea that multiplication is repeated addition. 

Along with the models, we analyze the patterns as we work through each set of multiples. 

Working and playing with their flashcards helps them to build their speed and automaticity. 

We're tracking our progress with the facts by adding a bubblegum sticker for each set of multiples we master. 

I am so proud of the way they are focused on this goal. It's amazing what they will do for bubblegum and a sticker!

They will often pull from the "On My Own" tray during wise choice time without me even suggesting. 

Partners and games help to keep the practice playful and lively. 

I've added the flashcards and modeling pages to my TPT store. 

You can check it out here if interested: 

Multiplication Flashcards and Practice Pages

Do you have a favorite resource for teaching and reinforcing the multiplication facts? 

I would love to hear!

Comment below or email at youngdor8@gmail.com

Valentine's Day

Here's a quick post on Valentine's Day. I'm off to Target to find a few goodies for Valentine's! I'm not doing too much for students. My thought is they will get enough sweets as it is and with V Day being on Tuesday, I'll be the one living with the aftermath all week long. Instead I'm giving them a Homework Pass Scroll down and grab a copy of it if you wish. Kids and their parents love this gift!

Here is the Valentine holder my third graders make. It is pretty simple and big enough to handle the cards they get. Third graders still get into making and decorating for this holiday. I know mine will be thrilled if I give them time to make these.

View the video below to see how to assemble this super simple Valentine's Day card holder!

Please "like" the video with a "thumbs up" if you would like to see other tutorials.

Here is the Valentine's Day poem I'll be doing with my kids. They will cut and glue the poem into their Poetry Anthology. I love Jack Prelutsky. He has awesome poetry books for every holiday.

This set has been added as a FREE product in my TPT store!

Click the link to check out the file!

Valentine's Day Freebie