How to help my ds who is struggling with his X tables

[thepuddingchef]

My ds (7) has always been behind his peers, mainly due to a disastrous year 1. His year 2 was better and his amazing teacher helped him to catch up in many aspects.
He is now struggling with his times tables and is getting behind again.
He was slow to read and write although he can do both now okay, spelling is still a bit iffy, but okay considering he used the phonics system. He was earmarked for being a possible dyslexic but it was considered he wasn't and nothing further was said.
I am dyslexic and this was only discovered last year during my Uni course. In hindsight although I was ahead in my reading at ds's age the signs were all there and I struggled and had to learn to compensate in so many ways. I thought I was just thick and had to try harder than my friends.

My ds is getting distraught that all his friends are on the 7 x table and 12 x table and he is still on the 2/3/5/10. He is getting picked on because of this and it is making matters worse. He has a very low self esteem and this is setting him further back.
He has always struggled with maths, swapping sums around, ie: 2x3 is the same as 3x2. Also grasping the units tens hundreds etc.....

Could any of you wonderful teachers out there give me some guidance on how I can help him, everything I seem to be doing atm isn't working.
thank you

You can get CDs to listen to in the car. Singing seems to help. Lots of games available on computer etc.

I have a book I got for DS that was written by an Irish woman when her DS had issues. My DS was a bit beyond it really so never looked at it really. I can pop it in the post to you if you pm me your address. It's called Harry's Magic Tables I think.

Cd's sound a good idea I will go and have a look for one online.

Have you drawn the arrays for each fact? You need to help him to build up a bank of visual images for each one. I can't make the computer do the dots, but 3 x 2 would be 3 rows of 2 dots, one under the other. Has the added benefit that if you rotate it 90 degrees it becomes 2 x 3. Make flashcards, both with the fact and the visual representation on. Set the timer for 1 minute and see how many he can get. Record it (preferably on a graph) and then do it for 1 minute the next day. Watch the line on the graph grow.

Get lego or pasta or similar (or in the case of one child I taught, the baby's dummies!) and make the arrays for the multiplication facts. You could even photograph them, alongside a piece of paper showing what fact it represents.

Get a multiplication square and show him how the square numbers make a line of reflective symmetry from top left to bottom right - each answer is repeated either side of the line. It will help him to see that he's only got to learn half the number of facts he thinks he has.

And of course all the wonderful apps, websites, CDs etc - there are loads out there. But making it visual and practical is the place to start. And if you can, teach him the related division facts at the same time - it will really help him later on.

thank you toomuchicecream great ideas I will certainly try

We used alan young's times tables 4 u which really helped dd1. It's available free online.

Have you got an iphone? The squeebles app is great.

Also DS's teacher suggested picking one sum per day, say 6x7, and randomly fire it at them....in the car, at tea, in the bath etc! Annoying but effective!

Yy to squeebles apps - they're magic. Work on Android too.

Timez Attack is a really great game for learning tables.

Also have you tried learning the facts using doubles and halves?

I teach my pupils to learn tables in this order.
1x
2x
4x
8x

3x
6x
12x

10x
5x

One multiple less than 10 is the 9x fact

11x is easy

7x is either one more than the 6x number or the 5x number added to the 2x number.

I find that if they can't remember the whole table, memorising some of them and working out the rest by doubling or near known facts will speed them up no end.

When I was at school back in the dark ages we had to write out our times tables in a grid, if we had time at the end of lessons - I ended up doing this a lot, and it really fixed them in my head.

When ds1 was having similar problems to,your son, my dad (who was a maths teacher) suggested writing out each multiplication in two parts, on separate cards, and using them for a speed matching game, or a memory game.

By in two parts, I mean 2x7 on one card and =14 on the other - so you end up with 20 cards for each times table

The one sum a day thing is definitely working for us.
First I showed him the x grid as mentioned above and scribbled all the doubles out e.g. if you learn 2x3 you also know 3x2. Then I coloured in all the 10x 5x 1x 11x and 2x as those were almost known. It looked far more managable like that.

I taught the 11''s early as they are easier. I also did the 9's next as you can use your fingers and it sounds impressive to be learning your nines.

There are a few rhymes which help 'I ate and ate until I was sick on the floor, 8 x 8 is 64'
'Wakey wakey rise and shine, 7 x 7 is 49'

Oh yes, we did the writing on cards for the number bonds which worked well, do the sum on one and match to the answer on another. Colour coding the sum and answer the same was brilliant as it wasn't possible to learn it wrong. He started just matchingthem by colour but after playing them a few times was able to tell me what was written on particular colours .

Hi -
This will duplicate some info you already been given, and you won't need all this stuff, but I'll quote a standard reply I often send to people with numeracy queries:

?QUOTE:

Practical things are best for grasping number concepts - bricks, Lego, beads, counters, money, shapes, weights, measuring, cooking.

Do adding, taking away, multiplication (repeated addition), division (sharing), using REAL OBJECTS as just 'numbers' can be too abstract for some children.

Number Bonds of Ten forms the basis of much maths work, so try to learn them. Using Lego or something similar, use a LOT of bricks (of just TWO colours, if you have enough) lay them out so the pattern can be seen of one colour INCREASING while the other colour DECREASES. Lay them down, or build up like steps.

So:

ten of one colour none of other
nine of one colour one of other
eight of one colour two of other
seven of one colour three of other

etc, etc

then of course, the sides are equal at 5 and 5; after which the colours 'swap over' as to increasing/decreasing.

To learn TABLES, do them in groups that have a relationship, thus:

x2, x4, x8

x3, x6, x12

5 and 10 are easy

7 and 9 are rather harder.

Starting with TWO times TABLE, I always say: "Imagine the class is lining up in pairs; each child will have a partner, if there is an EVEN number in the class. If one child is left without a partner, then the number is ODD, because an odd one is left out."

Use Lego bricks again, lay them out in a column of 2 wide to learn 2x table. Go half way down the column, and move half the bricks up, so that now the column is 4 bricks wide. That gives the start of 4x table.

Then do similar things with 3x and 6x.

With 5x, try and count in 'fives', and notice the relationship with 'ten' - they will alternate, ending in 5 then 10.

It is important to try and UNDERSTAND the relationships between numbers, and not just learn them 'by rote'.

I am sorry it seems complicated trying to explain these concepts, but using Lego or counters should make understanding easier.

An inexpensive solar powered calculator (no battery to run out!) can help learn tables by 'repeated addition'. So: enter 2+2 and press = to give 4. KEEP PRESSING = and it should add on 2 each time, giving 2 times table.

There are good web sites, which can be fun to use :

www.ictgames.com/

www.resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/index.html

UNQUOTE

Note that using a calculator to 'step through' tables may help. Personally, I don't 'go' much on poems and songs (cos can't remember them!) but use anything that helps in your situation.

thank you for your replies, I am feeling a little more confident that I can make a difference to his learning. It's so hard when I don't know X tables myself, maybe I could try learning them with him

DS had a hand held device by learning resources for times tables, he found it fun and it could be done in the car etc. Child friendly to use and a lot cheaper than letting him loose at that age with a tablet or laptop.

From memory, you can choose the times table or random and race against a clock. Am happy to see if we still have it if you think it will help.

Education City may have some maths games for times tables too.

Stick a tables poster where he can see it while sitting on the loo.

There is an app called sqeebles. You unlock "monsters" (it's not a rip off of moshi - oh no). You have to get so many questions right to unlock them - you set the levels and the tables they know.

they have a multiplication and division app - think they are about a pound each.

My 2 play it for a lot longer than they would do flash cards etc...

Percy Parker's CD is a huge hit in my classroom. (link to downloadable version - can't quickly find the CD www.amazon.co.uk/Sing-Times-Tables-Percy-Parker/dp/B008F4MWFE/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1381103722&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=percy+parker+times+tables )

And Squeebles.

And this book www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0906212855/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Percy Parker on iPhone is fab. There are lots of free timestables apps.

Repetition!

I used to be absolutely rubbish at maths (I went to a tiny village primary where there was one teacher for the entire school so never learnt anything!)

Because I struggled my mum paid for me to do Kumon. don't shoot me! It was a long time ago, I'm 33!

I'm not suggesting paying for kumon (I've seen how expensive it is and I can teach the stuff myself!)

But....... The one thing I took from it was the style of teaching.... Everyday doing repetitive sums. Eg day after day just doing 2x, or 4x etc (so the equivalent of you sticking to one set for a few days at a time and firing questions) it soon sinks in and I am now a scientist and I would say I know my times table better than anyone I work with (I'm at the bottom of the clever scale where I work!) purely because of the way I was taught back then!

I used to sit DS down and we'd do the whole thing by rote. It has it's own rhythm to it.

once seven is seven; two sevens are fourteen; 3 sevens are 21; 4 sevens are 28 etc. etc.

Get your DS to say the tables along with you, although at first, he won't know it, he'll hear it so often, it will sink in.... My DS and I used to spend half an hour every night going through the x tables while learning them.

It's the way I learnt them and sometimes, the old methods aren't necessarily to be dismissed out of hand - it's finding what suits you :)

I'm old, by the way :)