One of the "tools" we can use with our students who struggle to memorize the multiplication table and who get stopped in problem solving by their lack of math facts is "Numbers That I Hear When I Count." On each of the strips below are the multiples of the numbers 2-9. If a student needs to multiply 6 x 6, he/she would flip to the "Numbers That I Hear When I Count By 6's" and count down then over to the sixth number to find the answer "36."
Likewise, if a student is trying to divide 56 by 8, he/she would flip to the "8" card and look for the number closest to "56", then count the position of "56" on the card..."56" will be the 7th number so 56 divided by 8 is 7. For division with remainders, if a student was attempting to divide 76 by 8, they would go to the "8" card and look for the closest number to 76 without going over it. That number would be 72 which is the 9th number. So 76 divided by 8 is nine with a remainder of 4.
Of course we would still want students to memorize their facts. But in the meantime, this tool may help them solve other problems without the frustration and labor of "guess and check."
And I just hope I got all the numbers right!
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