How Do You Teach 3Rd Graders Multiplication?
When teaching multiplication to young students, the most important point to drive home is the fact that multiplication is nothing more than repeated addition. Most teachers do not do this, in some cases because they don’t fully realize it themselves. It is not just some special operation that someone dreamed up, nor is it just a task in using a multiplication table to find the answer to a problem. This article offers some steps for effectively teaching multiplication to third graders. Draw 15 circles in a row on the board. Ask the students to count them. It is ideal if some of the students get a total other than 15, because this will show how easy it is to lose track when counting by ones. Try to elicit ideas for better ways of handling this task. If possible, give 15-40 counters to each student. If this is not possible for logistical or budgetary reasons, just have them use drawn circles. Ask the students to arrange 15 counters or circles in an orderly way. Guide them to the idea of m
