WAYS TO PRACTICE MULTIPLICATION FACTS AT HOME
Where to Start
 Start by teaching the zeros and ones facts. These facts are easy to learn because they
follow specific rules.
Anything multiplied by zero equals zero (8 X 0 = 0)
Anything multiplied by one equals itself (8 X 1 = 8)
 Demonstrate how the twos facts are just the numbers added together
(8 X 2 = 8 + 8)
 Show how to solve five facts by counting by fives
(5 X 3 = 5 + 10 + 15)
 Show how to use the multiplication facts they know to find the facts they don't know
(If they know 5 X 3 = 15, solve 5 X 4 by adding 5 + 15)
 Then move to each of the fact families: 3's, 4,s, 6's,7's, 8's and 9's, 11's and 12's.
 Remind that all multiplication facts can be done backwards
(8 X 2 = 2 X 8)
 DO NOT move to a different fact family without first mastering the previous one.
Flashcards
 Create your own. Students write the multiplication question on the front of the card and
the answer in number and picture format on the back. Example, students write 4x7= (front
of card) and write 28 and 4 sets of 7 on the back of the card. The picture representation
allows the student to understand how 28 becomes the answer. Multiplication is simply
repeated addition.
 The dollar store almost always has multiplication flashcards.
For Active Kids
 Have your child bounce a basketball or catch a ball as he or she says the multiples of
different numbers. For example, he can practice the multiples of 9 for each bounce 9, 18,
27, 36. Then he can say them backward: 81, 72, 63, 54. Research shows that kinesthetic
movement helps the brain learn facts.
Games
 This game is played with two people. They put both hands behind their backs and on their
count, shoot out a number. Each player multiplies his or her number times the other
player’s number, and keep score.
 Multiplication War: Deal a deck of cards between two people. Each person flips the top
card of his/her deck onto the table at the same time. The first person to call out the
product of the two numbers on the cards gets to keep the cards. (Ace=1, Jack=11,
Queen=12, King=0)
 Roll the Dice: This game can be played with one person or two. Roll two dice. Multiply the
two numbers showing face up. Write the digits 7-12 on squares of masking tape and stick
to the dice to practice your 7-12 facts.
Some great websites that will help you practice those facts:
www.funbrain.com
www.aplusmath.com
www.mathcat.com
www.coolmath.com
www.multiplication.com
www.mathsisfun.com