a school year, math, and multiplication

I cannot believe how quickly a school year passes. You think all is going good, but then Christmas comes and goes and suddenly it’s Feb. 13th and you have 15 weeks of school left and only about 45 school days until the Math TAKS test for 3rd and 4th graders, which is on April 28th. I am usually not a worrier, but how shall I say it? This test makes me quite anxious and in fact PANIC at times. After all, I teach math in small groups and also do inclusion. I want all students to do well, but especially MY students. They are the students who struggle with math concepts, particularly when it comes to problem solving. I wish I had a magic potion that would enable them to understand the problems they struggle with, but I don’t. So when I pull a small group, I do my very best to teach everything I possibly can in less than 30 minutes while trying to make them feel good and more confident about their problem solving abilities in math.

If you want a fun way to practice and master multiplcation facts, go to big brainz for a free basic version of timez attack. It is in video game format which your child should love. From a teacher's point of view, it will greatly benefit your child if they can memorize their facts.

***FYI about the game: We teach multiplication like this 3 x 4 = 12 which equals 3 groups of 4. This game for some reason currently shows this as 4 groups of 3, but multiplcation has a commutative property (3 x 4 = 4 x 3) and it shouldn't cause a problem. I just didn't want any confusion for you or your child.

Another website I just found that looked great is from mathcats. This website has a plethora of information on multiplication.

***note to friends and family--i realize some of my posts are really random. i just write what comes to my wandering mind. maybe this post will give someone info they can use or past on to someone else.

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