Connect 4 with Multiples

Earlier this year, we came across a blog post by Joe Schwartz entitled, 'I Like This Game Because You Have to Think Hard.'

In his blog post, he gave students a blank 100/120 grid for them to fill in trying to get 4 in a row. We saw the benefits of this activity, but currently working in Upper Key Stage Two, our pupils are pretty proficient with numbers between 0 and 100. So, we adapted the idea to make it about times table facts. 

1. Give the children a blank 12 x 12 grid of squares between two.

2. Ensure each child has a different coloured pen/pencil.

3. Children fill in facts on the grid, taking it in turns and trying to get four in a row horizontally or vertically. 

4. Depending on competence, children could have a times table grid on hand to enable them to check each others facts.

Enjoy!

Times Table (Ball Pit) Relay

After seeing something on Facebook, I did a times table relay with my class. On Twitter, Mr Dyson saw it and liked it. He challenged one of his teachers to 'do better'. That set me thinking!

@missnolan91 ...... you have to better this now https://t.co/kjSTKHlY5v

— Chris Dyson (@chrisdysonHT) July 10, 2017

And, today this is what we did...

I got mine and another teacher's times table sticks and the Velcro numbers that go on them;

I filled two recycle bins with ball pit balls;

Outside, I stood the sticks against a wall;

I put the Velcro numbers for a times table in each of the ball pits;

I then got the class, in turn, to run and collect a number, work out the times table and add it in the correct place on the stick. 

It. Was. Great!

Times Table Relay

A little while ago we saw this video on Facebook:

 

Today, we gave it a go with our Year Five Class:




It was good:

- times tables
- team work
- critical thinking
- proof reading
- correcting other's work
- fun in the sun
- #math

Just another way to cover times tables that doesn't involve sitting at desks! Thanks to AnAppleForTheTeacher for sharing.

'We Make Use of...' 123 Learning Books

Our next post in our 'We Make Use of...' series...
"123 Learning books boost confidence and attainment in maths.  That's a fairly bold claim, but our repeat sales are testament to this.  They each work on the principle that some people need and benefit from extra support and practice." That's taken from the company's website, and we'd agree. 

In Years 3 - 6 we've used Plus 1, Power of 2 and Perform with Times Tables with some excellent results. The books are set out in a very similar fashion to Toe by Toe (for those of you that are familiar with it). A pupil, with an adult, answers mathematical questions a couple of pages at a time and when they've shown that they can recall a fact and group of facts a number of times, they move on through the book. The books get progressively more challenging and therefore build confidence while working on attainment.

It's important to provide this intervention for the right pupils. Also, for some, the books stay in school and are completed with TAs and teachers only; others complete some in school and some at home. For some children, maths is difficult because they're missing basic fact knowledge or strategies: this can help with that. 

If ordering, contact them in advance. Discounts are given for larger orders...

We've written this blog post to outline our use of these publications. We have not been asked to write this or received anything for the purpose or expectation of this blog post being written. This is, as always, the view and opinion of two full-time class teachers about something we use in the classroom.

The Grid Challenge

Saw a Tweet earlier this week:

Absolutely unbelievable scenes as Sarah in Year 6 takes this down in 8 and a half minutes pic.twitter.com/wk2Z8cCXl8

— Ashley Booth (@MrBoothY6) February 13, 2017

Wow. Didn't the child do well. And, we really liked the look of the task, so we set about making some of our own. Our class have really enjoyed trying to solve them since. We made an Excel document for creating them and extended it over the four operations. 

At the time of writing, we've used multiplication and addition grids with our class. Not sure how useful the subtraction and division versions will be, but they're there if needed.

Find the resources here. Hope it's useful.

Strictly Come Arithmetic

While watching Strictly Come Dancing (yes TV to the rescue again), I noticed a contestant was given a 7 by each of the judges. My brain immediately set to work and inside my head, I muttered to myself, "Oh, 28". Genius, I know. So, Strictly Come Dancing can be used for some four times table work. Maybe screenshot the scores, maybe make your own, maybe watch a dance that's given four of the same score (to engage the class) and ask the class to quickly work out the total. Of course, we can not do any of those here due to copyright (Have emailed the BBC to ask for permission though - they always say no though).

There's more here than just the four times table of course, it's mental addition. Score of 6, 6, 7, 6 is 3 X 6 + 7. So now all scores given are useful. Again, take screenshots, make your own, watch it back in iPlayer. I like the idea of seeing part of the dance for a bit of context. How quickly, and most importantly what methods are used, to get the total score given?

More Times Table Ideas

On Monday 16th March 2015, our school held an internal TeachMeet as our staff meeting. Here's one of the presentations we made as part of that...

Update 26th March 2015:

@PrimaryIdeas practise multiplication tables with http://t.co/5U1J3LXROi use with the whole class
— Grange Education (@GrangeEducation) March 24, 2015