When a child goes to school, most parents think that teachers will easily teach their child everything they need: whether it is multiplication, spelling, or foreign languages. However, as practice shows, this is far from the case. Children in the very first grade are faced with such a problem as a misunderstanding of the program, and this is absolutely natural. Most difficulties in primary school arise with mathematics, in particular with multiplication and / or division.
Of course, in the curriculum this important section in all the exact sciences is allocated quite a lot of time, but sometimes it is not enough. In this case, the parents have to take matters into their own hands and teach the child everything independently at home, so that their child can later cope with more complex tasks.
Reasons for misunderstanding
To solve the problem, first of all, you need to understand the reason and eliminate it.
In most cases, difficulties arise due to the banal carelessness of the child. It is difficult for children at such a young age to concentrate on one thing for more than ten minutes, so they are often distracted by various trifles.
It also often happens that a child is embarrassed to ask the teacher for fear of appearing dumber than he really is, in the eyes of the teacher or his peers. In this case, you should talk with him and make it clear that there is nothing shameful in clarifying certain details that are not clear to him after explaining the material and no one will scold him for this. On the contrary, most often teachers encourage this behavior.
Learning ability of a child depends on his natural data, laid down by genes, his perseverance and willingness to learn. Many children are not given exact sciences, since from birth they have a more pronounced tendency to the natural and humanitarian. But, alas, in school there is no way to choose subjects for study, so sooner or later, mathematics will have to explain to his child.
So, after finding out the cause, the following question arises: "How to explain multiplication on your own?"
Preparation
First you need to make a printout of the Pythagorean multiplication table or draw it yourself. It is necessary to do just that, because by ordinary examples it will not be possible to explain the principle to the child. The Pythagorean table looks like the one shown in the picture:
Explanation
Let the young student independently try to find a pattern. It is recommended that you try not to think about how to explain the child the multiplication, but to relax and turn this activity into an exciting game.
Starting to study this section of mathematics, children have long been familiar with the simplest actions, such as addition and subtraction. Explaining to the child how multiplication works, you need to use the easiest example. It should be understood that the phrase "multiply the number five by the number three" or "five three" means the same as "five plus five, plus five." It is also necessary to write in the form of numbers, so that the child can visualize this:
5 Ă— 3 = 5 + 5 + 5.
If a student asks why complicate and come up with something new, because you can use only addition, you should explain to him that in mathematics there are also large numbers, which will add up for a long and unreliable. Multiplication is the shortest way for such situations.
If the child does not understand the principle of the table, you need to show him that the numbers located horizontally are multiplied by the numbers located vertically, and where they intersect - the right answer. The main thing is not to go astray and inadvertently not to make a mistake by looking into the next cell.
Do not put pressure on the child
When the question arises of how easy it is to explain the multiplication table to the child, there is only one answer. It takes a lot of time and patience, because for a student it is all new.
You should not expect that the day after the parents learned how to explain the multiplication to the child, he will immediately learn to find the works of any numbers in his head.
You should learn slowly, first, analyze the multiplication by one number, then by another. For example, on the first day, it is better to address the question: "How to explain to the child the multiplication table by two?"
Everything is very easy here. You need to make it clear that the number must be doubled, that is, add it to yourself. It is strongly recommended that you pronounce expressions out loud and write them in the form of numerical values. For instance:
Six times two (six by two) means the same as six plus six:
6 Ă— 2 = 6 + 6.
You need to do the same with the rest of the numbers. It’s easiest to decide how to explain the multiplication table by a number like nine. There is an old trick. All you need is fingers on both hands. For example, you need to multiply nine by three. To solve this expression, you just need to bend the third finger in a row, and see how much is left in front of it, and how much after.
When multiplied by three to a bent finger, there will be two of them, and after - seven. The first number means tens, and the second one. So the answer will be twenty-seven. After that, you should check this method on more complex expressions, for example, how much will nine multiply by eight (nine eight)?
From a permutation of the factors, the product does not change
One of the key points in the question of how to explain multiplication to a child is not to forget to tell him about this rule, known to everyone. Then it will become extremely clear to the student that it is not at all necessary to study the entire table, only half of it will be enough. It should, as in previous cases, do not forget to say this rule verbally and write it in numerical form. For instance:
Five times eight (five eight) - the same as eight times five (eight five);
5 Ă— 8 = 8 Ă— 5.
Reiteration
As mentioned above, the question of how to correctly explain the child the multiplication table, the answer is time and patience. It is necessary to repeat the studied material every day, if possible in a playful way.
You can not put pressure on the child, shout at him and scold him if he does not understand something. It’s better to sit down calmly and once again patiently explain everything to him.
Games
There are many games that can help your child better understand the principles of multiplication and show it in action with a good example. The teachers who make up these games know firsthand how to explain multiplication to a child, so this method is one of the easiest and most reliable:
- For example, knowledge of the multiplication table by four is checked. The parent writes: 16, 24, 26, 28, 32, 36. The child must say by what number this multiplication table is, what is superfluous in the list and which is missing (12, 20 and so on).
- A parent cuts out paper products and writes examples on them. The child needs to distribute them so that the answers go from smaller to larger, and then he learns in which order to put the ingredients in the salad, soup or other dishes (at the discretion of the parent).
- Cards are cut in size three by four centimeters, expressions are written on top, answers are written below. The child needs to substitute, for example, a piece of paper with the correct answer to it, and so on until the end of the game according to the principles of a real domino.
Poems
Also, for easy memorization, there is such an option as poetry - rhymes are memorized much simpler than numbers. For example, children remember stanzas written by Andrey Usachev well:
2x3
The cock sat before dawn. On a high pole: - Kukareku! Twice Three, Twice Three - Six!
2x4
A pair of forks stuck into the pie: Two by four - eight holes.
2x5
We decided to weigh two elephants: Twice five - we get ten. That is, each elephant weighs approximately five tons.
2x6
I met crab cancer: Twice six - twelve paws.
2x7
Twice seven mice - Fourteen ears!
2x8
Octopuses went swimming: Twice eight legs - sixteen.
2x9
Have you seen such a miracle? Two humps on the back of a camel. Nine camels began to count: Twice nine humps - eighteen.
3x3
Two small insects drank coffee And broke three cups each. What is broken, then do not glue ... three times three - nine comes out.
3x4
The whole day repeats in the apartment Talking cockatoo: - Three times four, Three times four ... Twelve months a year.
3x5
The schoolboy began to write in a notebook: How many “three times five” will be? .. He was terribly accurate: Three times five - fifteen spots!
3x6
Thomas began to have pancakes: Eighteen - three times six.
3x7
Three times seven - twenty one: On the nose a hot pancake.
3x8
Holes in the cheese gnawed at the mouse: Three times eight - twenty four.
3x9
Three times nine - twenty seven. Everyone needs to remember this.
4x4
Four cute pigs danced without boots: Four times four - sixteen bare legs.
4x5
Four learned monkeys Feet leafing through books ... Five fingers on each foot: Four times five - twenty.
4x6
Went to the parade Potato-in-uniform: Four times six - twenty four!
4x7
Chicks count in the fall: Four times seven - twenty eight!
4x9
Baba Yaga broke the stupa: “Four times eight” - thirty-two teeth! - Beige toad she has nothing to eat: - Four times nine - "thirty six"!
5x5
Hares went for a walk: Five-five - twenty-five.
5x6
A fox ran into the forest: Five-six - thirty.
5x7
Five bears from the den They walked through the woods without a road - For seven versts kissel slurp: Five seven - thirty five!
5x8
Climbing a centipede. It is difficult on a hillock: Legs are tired - Five-eight - forty.
5x9
The guns got up on the hill: Five-eight - forty came out.
The guns started firing: Five-nine-forty-five.
5x9
If you’re slurping soup cabbage: Five nine - forty-five ... That bast shoe will drip on everyone’s pants!
6x6
Six old women spun wool: Six six - thirty six.
6x7
Six networks of six ruffles - This is also thirty-six. A roach caught in the net: Six seven - forty two.
6x8
Hippopotamus rolls ask: Six eight - forty eight ...
6x9
We don’t mind the bun. Open your mouth wider: Six-nine will be - Fifty-four.
7x7
Fools do not reap, do not sow, They themselves are born: A family of seven - forty-nine ... Let them not be offended!
7x8
Once the deer asked the moose: - How many family will be eight? - The elk did not climb into the textbook: - Fifty, of course, six!
7x9
Seven nesting dolls. The whole family is inside: A family of nine crumbs. Sixty-three.
8x8
Vacuuming the nose of the Elephant carpets in the apartment: Eight by eight - Sixty-four.
8x9
Eight bears chopped wood. Eight nine - seventy two
9x9
The piggy pig decided to check: - How much will it turn out “nine on nine”? - Eighty - oink - one! - So answered the young pig.
Division
It will be no less difficult to understand how to explain division to a child with multiplication.
Here the same rules work as in teaching the previous action: patience, time, constant repetitions and games that help the child understand in a light unobtrusive way what such a process in mathematics is like division.
As in the previous case, you should start with the basics and explain the principles. Division is the inverse process of multiplication. Suppose there is such a task:
28: 7
After the child understands that the answer here will be four, since 7 x 4 = 28, we can proceed to the next example. You should also say this:
"Twenty-eight divided by seven equals four, since the product of these numbers will be equal to the divisible."
It is imperative to explain what a dividend, divisor and quotient are, so that there is no further confusion.
When a child learns to multiply and divide, his relationship with mathematics will improve markedly and in the future he will no longer be afraid to take on more complex tasks. The main thing for parents is to be close throughout the training and support, and where the young student can not cope on his own, patiently instruct and prompt.