In the usual way of teaching multiplication tables to class 1st or 2nd
grade students, it is told that table means multiplication of
a given number or repeated addition. And then various ways of how to memorize –
like in rhyming ways, family of a number, drawing some pictures or doing some
exercise of repeated counting. While all these methods lead to a better way of
memorizing, however, they do not help to make the child understand why memorize
the Multiplication Table? What if table was not there? Why is it necessary to
learn table? Can’t I do maths without learning tables? When the dialogue is
taken to this level of conceptual understanding, the child can naturally
appreciate the advantage of learning table and will feel interested in learning
it. Moreover, the concept thus registered will last longer and build a thought
process, which first provokes the thought of “why” in the quest of knowledge
and then demonstrates the way of how to do it.
So, let us come back to the questions asked above and begin
the journey from there… Why Multiplication Table? What if table was
not there? Why is it necessary to learn table? Can’t I do maths without learning
tables?
I chose this situation, which my son Tanmay (2nd
grade) can relate to and also feels attached because it is about his birthday
celebration. In our residential colony, we have 10 cross roads named as 1st
cross to 10th cross. A basic table comprises of multiples up to 10
times, so this example fitted into the context. Next was to use this example to
build a situation to stimulate the thought process.
So, I said… it is Tanmay’s birthday, and he invited his
friends from all the crosses in the layout. As a starter, he will offer 2
smileys to each friend, when he comes home for the birthday party. First comes
one friend from 1st cross, so how many smileys will he give? And the
prompt answer was: 2 smileys. Okiee! Now, 2 friends come from 2nd
cross, so how many smiley will he get from mummy to give them? He counted and
said 4 smileys. Bingo J
And then 3 friends from 3rd cross come. He jumped to counting again
and said 6 smileys. Cool !!! And then we continued in the same fashion. The
answers kept pouring as 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20. Though, with each iteration,
it was taking longer time to get the answer as the counting increased.
So, I teased him… for the later friends in larger numbers,
you are taking such a long time to calculate and then get the smileys. If you
do like this, your friends who came earlier will make fun of you and may be
some of them who came in just now will feel bad that they are not being given
smileys on time. This question registered deeply with him and he was really
wondering what he should do. This was the real powerful moment to stimulate the
real need for doing something more than just knowing the addition, because it
takes time to do this calculation every time, and it can affect the prestige
among the friends who have gathered at his birthday party. So, he was receptive
to the idea to do something better to handle this situation.
That’s it… the ground was set to realize the value of
learning table and to use it. So, now I stepped in to put all the previous
calculations in perspective to naturally lead him forward. Again, I was
cautious enough not to jump into teaching tables which would break the
continuum and will be forced to memorize. I wanted him to feel that tables have
naturally originated based on the need. So, here is how I put the things in
perspective. I said, let’s recall all that you did every time friends arrived
at the birthday party.
2 smileys for 1 friend (of 1st
cross) è get 2 smileys from mummy
2 smileys for 2 friends (of 2nd
cross) è get 4 smileys from mummy
2 smileys for 3 friends (of 3rd
cross) è get 6 smileys from mummy ...
.
.
.
2 smileys for 10 friends (of
10th cross) è get 20 smileys from mummy
And he nodded yes in agreement. Then, I repeated the same
thing in a little more simplified manner as follows:
2 smileys for 1 friend è 2 smileys
2 smileys for 2 friends è 4 smileys
2 smileys for 3 friends è 6 smileys ...
.
.
.
2 smileys for 10 friends è 20 smileys
And he again nodded in agreement with the above arrangement.
Now, it was the time to transform this arrangement into the way that he can
memorize, and it was like this:
2 ones
are 2
2 twos
are 4
2 threes are 6 ...
.
.
.
2 tens
are 20
And he realized that this is the same table he was taught
earlier, and found it easy to associate with and also to memorize. Now every
time he repeats this table, he has the birthday party example deeply registered
with him (remember… the prestige among the friends!) and stimulates the learning
in the background.
To make it further exciting, I said that now consider that
it is Tanisha’s birthday (she is his elder sister). So, to each of her friend
arriving, she will offer 4 smileys (since they are older friends). So, now
counting has to be repeated for 4-4 smileys. Now, without much time taken, we
could naturally lead to the table of 4.
4 ones
are 4
4 twos
are 8
4 threes are 12 ...
.
.
.
4 tens
are 40
Through both the above examples, he realized that if he
learns the tables, then such repeated counting can be done quickly with ease
and make him confident to handle the real life situations. Clearly, it also
conveyed, how tables can be applied to use.
The proof of pudding is in eating it. This whole engagement
with my son had happened about a year back (in year 2015), and that is when I
had captured these thoughts. Today, with an intention to publish this note, I
just asked Tanmay about what he recalls of interaction of learning tables one year back: the example, and
its benefit and so on. Much to my astonishment, he recalled majority of the
things and also told that he enjoyed in the beginning for why to learn tables. He said,
“Later, with practice, we memorize and do not need to worry about the why part
because we have understood it.”
This feedback from my son reinforced my belief in this
article and here you are reading it J
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