Instant recall vs working out

[redskyatnight]

Wondering if anyone has any tips as to how to "teach" instant recall of tables and number bonds?

DS is year 3 and he still works out all his number bonds each time. he is pretty fast but obviously he would be faster if he just "knew" them.

He also works out tables from scratch each time. Again he is quite quick - and he knows lots of "tricks" such as multiplication by 4 is the same as doubling twice, he works out 12 times table by finding 10 times first and adding on from there etc. However again I think (maybe incorrectly) that it would help him if he had instant recall.

Up till now I've just been happy that he is obviously confident in understanding where the answer comes from. However this term his teacher has started doing mixed times tables tests and he is suddenly struggling to keep up (previously they did 1 table at a time and he consistently got 12/12).

Whenever I've tried to do any sort of "teaching" he just works out the answer ...

You just learn them - in tiny chunks. So, say he's doing his 4 x table, you ask him (hundred of times a day, when he's in the bath, when you are eating tea, when you are driving somewhere, when you are walking to school, etc.,etc.,etc. "What 3x4?" answers "so then what's 4x3?". Just do that question until he answers it like he answers 'What's your name?' - ie, without thinking about it. Then you do 3x4 and 4x4, and gradually build up. If you keep with the reversing the questions, there aren't actually that many to learn, and it builds up quickly. But, at the end of the day, it is just rote learning.

Hmm, that's kind of what I am doing. Trouble is when I say what is "3x4" he mentally says 4,8,12 to himself before coming up with the answer. I'm not sure how to move from this (which is his automatic reaction) to him just trying to think of the anwer (without working it out).

We had exactly the same issue with DS - because he could work it out pretty fast, he saw no need for instant recall.

He took no notice of us going "faster, faster" - and in the end what worked was this CD. The difference was obviously startling, as his teacher asked what his secret was and ended up recommending the CD to parents of the rest of the class - warning - it is incredibly annoying, but it goes at a pace which means instant recall is the only answer - we used to play it in the car on the way to school every morning (only 10 minutes a day, but it seemed to be enough).

I should be on commission given how many times I have recommended the damn thing, but since it only costs £3.77 I don't suppose there is much margin left.

perhaps try starting with higher multiples, so that the hassle of counting out is more - then if you've asked 7x6 numerous times repeatedly, he might be more likely to just use the answer he'd previous worked out. (Of course, if he has many strategies for working out quickly, like subtracting from 10x to get 9x, or doubling other tables, as it sounds like he does, he may be fast enough for this not to help. But if you can find whichever are the hardest/longest to work out, then start with those, repeatedly, until it's more worth his time to just answer from memory.

Also, you can try doing them in a rhythm - e.g., to a metronome or to catching a ball or a dance or something, and then if you are going fast enough, there isn't time to work them out without spoiling the rhythm.

Using other senses can help too; e.g., the clock method, where you have the answers arranged around the clock face, means they can visually see and remember what the answer to a given multiple is, without counting through (if they have strong visual memories). Or with auditory memory, songs or rhymes can help, although those sometimes take more time to recite, especially at first - but they do get away from the habit of automatically counting through, and then they speed up/eventually aren't needed any more.

Does he know that you are trying to get him to use rote memory instead of counting through/strategies? If not, he might not be trying to change his habit. It might be worth explaining to him why instant recall is helpful, and why you want to avoid the habit of counting through, so that he is really trying to do that himself, not just secretly getting faster and faster at doing it to try to fool you that he knows them instantly.

Division can be useful as well, as it's sometimes more obvious if a child is counting through, so if he can get to the point that he can do division questions just as rapidly, then he might be doing them by instant recall. Recognising multiples can help as well - learning to be able to look at a number and tell immediately if it's in the 4x table, for example - all part of being very familiar with the table and the numbers in it.

Hi redskyatnight

My DDs (Y4 & Y2) respond well to video games.

There is a free open source game called Tux of Math Command - which is based on asteroids. You can select the type of problem and level and difficulty and the problems scroll down the screen and you shoot them away by solving them. It can be a bit stressful - but it does get speed up.

You can find more info here: tux4kids.alioth.debian.org/tuxmath/

Math Attack - has various games - multiplication & division games can be downloaded in part for free - you have to pay for more levels & complicated versions. However, the free version is o.k. for practicing and my girls enjoy it.

It's sort of like dungeon and dragons - you're a little monster and you go exploring a dungeon or castle and have to solve multiplication questions (or division questions - as inverse operation of multiplication).

More info here: www.bigbrainz.com/

Also try searching BBC learning (BETA) & BBC Bitesize - they also will have good practice games - unfortunately you will have to gauge if the KS2 games are too difficult at this stage (they aren't always differentiated for Y3).

Good luck.

Some children have a very strong visual memory and learn better if they can utilise this as well as the auditory techniques. With these children I have found it is useful to use a number square www.math-salamanders.com/images/1st-grade-math-1-100-chart-1.gif and get them to mark/colour the squares for the answers to a particular times table. ( Extend the grid above 100 for the higher times tables). Use a new square and different colour for each different times table you learn.

Then I get them to say the times table ( as in 1x2=2, not just counting up in multiples) while pointing at the answers on the grid.

Then I give them a blank sheet of paper and challenge them to say the times table again using an "imaginary" square and still pointing at roughly where the answers would be on a real square.

I find if you practice like this a bit they usually pick it up quite quickly.