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Is It Enough To Just Learn Times Tables To Get Them Right?
Posted on September 28th, 2010 143 commentsThe school curriculum has increased and this has also affected mathematics. As a result, teachers do not seem to have time to help children learn times tables. This leaves times tables learning as homework with a need for help from parents.
There is a lot of information on the internet about how to learn times tables.
As a parent, this is, at best, confusing; the problem is that you do not really know what works and what does not.The pressures on parents in terms of work and bringing up children mean that parents are time poor and have to decide what to do to help their children with times tables with little knowledge.The decision reached will have a huge affect on their children’s ability to learn times tables quickly and easily.Making such decisions more difficult is the fact that there are few studies that can be drawn on to help identify the very best methods of learning times tables.
Learning times tables well are a platform on which to build and flourish in mathematics.If times tables are not learned well your children’s progress in school will suffer.It is generally accepted that this has a detrimental effect on children’s confidence and their potential.
So, to return to the beginning. What is the goal of times tables learning?The answer is clear; parents need to help their children by using a method that has as its goal ‘instant recall’ of the times tables. Children need to be taught a method so that they know the tables without having to think about them.
The reason is that times tables affect so much mathematics learned later. Tables are the key to multiplication, division, algebra and so much more. This point here is that if you cannot get the simple things right at the start and quickly, then your chances of picking up and understanding new concepts are lessened, as you are spending more brain power recalling the times tables, instead of knowing them instantly and focusing on the next things.
This is such an important point to grasp. To do this, try answering these quick questions – What is your name?
Your didn’t have to think about the answer! Now try ‘what is the name of your child or one of your children’?
Did you manage to think about both as quickly as before? How long does it take for you to get to the answer what is 8 x 7? What about adding to this? What is 7 x 8 and 9 x7? Do you know your tables so well that you could answer these quickly without thinking? 8 x 7 was changed to 7 x 8. Most people pause before answering. They have the same numbers and same answer, so why should you not know this and be able to answer as quickly? Because time is spent thinking rather then answering the question.
This simple exercise shows that your children need to know the times tables as well their own names. If they can do this mathematics becomes easier. To gain a huge advantage in maths children need a method of learning times tables that results in them knowing the answers instantly.
The method that does this is the 100% Instant Recall Method which you can find out all about at Learn Times Tables or Learning Times Tables
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