Math Club Details: How to Set Up for Success

• There is debate among administrators, teachers, and parents on the best way to teach multiplication tables. Since I am no expert, I wanted to share some researched findings with you.

  • Stanford professor, Dr. Jo Boaler wrote, ”Fluency Without Fear: Research Evidence on the Best Ways to Learn Math Facts” that addresses some of that debate. It’s a great read and you can check it out here.

  • Boaler argued that instead of working on blind memorization, students should work on manipulating and understanding the numbers, so that after much repetition, memorization is a natural by-product of a rich understanding of the numbers. She also spoke out strongly against timed tests for their ability to create anxiety and undue stress.

  • Boaler recommends replacing the quick drills of multiplication flashcards with more activities that engage students in thinking through problems. (“Number Talks” was one of the methods she suggested in her paper. You can see more on that here.)

• Rote memorization of multiplication facts is something that our elementary school in Georgia has dropped completely. Personally, I was baffled as to why (especially since we were encouraged to work on math facts at home) until I read Dr. Boaler’s research and not surprisingly, saw it referenced in the Georgia Standards.

• The research makes sense and ideally there would be plenty of time for students to gain fluency through engaging problem solving in the classroom. But, in my personal experience, third grade moves quickly and students need to be ready to tackle more complex math problems. They are being asked to move to two step problems before they would have time to form natural memorization through active engagement.

• In an effort to speed up fluency, I created Math Club for my daughter and her friends.

• Math Club can be a tailored supplement to boost natural memorization that happens with usage and understanding….It can be super fun too!

• You can check out the quick summary of the Math Club Resources below

• And I want to note, though I tutored calculus and statistics at the college level and was a proud mathlete in 7th grade, I have no qualifications to actually teach math. I do however have a lot of experience working with students and making things more visually appealing. 😊

• If you just read “Learning Multiplication Tables” above, now is the time to come clean: I have to admit when I first created the resources for my group of four third graders, it was to emphasize rote memorization, BUT I want to make it clear that I worked with students that already showed a great understanding of the principals and numbers behind multiplication problems. They had good “Number Sense.”

• And, since we are all friends here, I might as well admit I also timed their tests. I will add the caveat, that I used a stopwatch - that never buzzed at them when they went past the “one minute goal”- and gave students the opportunity to “beat their time.” But I can definitely recognize even in my small group of four high achieving students, that it was more fun for some than others.

• So, I share all of this with you, because I want you to build the best system for your student(s). Take what works, leave the rest, and when in doubt trust the experts.

• I am including adaptations throughout, where you can use the resources without timed tests and play more multiplications games and activities that emphasize understanding over rote memorization and I provide plenty of links to experts. :)

• In theory Math Club consists of:

  • 1 hour Math Club meeting a week where you can do lessons, math games, and multiplication practice.

  • Mission Letters & Coded Messages for students to find during the week. The coded messages use multiplication problems as symbols for each letter and the products as the answer key. These messages require students to solve many multiplication problems to figure out what the coded message is saying.

• When creating these resources, I set up an order for learning the multiplication tables that worked best for the third grade students with which I was working. The pre-made Mission Letters are built around this order, but feel free to customize.

• Here was the order we did: 1x, 0x, 2x, 5x, 3x, 10x, 11x, 4x, 6x, 9x, 7x, 8x, and 12x

• We specifically saved 9x, 7x, 8x, and 12x for last (though 9x has some really fun tricks we learned early on).

• To make learning those last four times tables extra fun, once students mastered 6x in the order above, we promoted our “Mathematic Cadets” to “Mathematic Agents”

• At the beginning of the week or during your Math Club, assign your cadet a multiplication table ranging from 0x to 12x to learn.

• You can download all the multiplication “assignments” (aka times table charts) here OR you can click on a number below to see the individual assignment/chart for that times table.

• This is self-paced. You can always double up on assignments for times tables that are easy for your student that particular week or repeat assignments as needed.

• During the week, send your cadet/agent a top secret mission letter.

• In the mission letter you can talk about that week’s “assignment,” congratulate them on any multiplication tables they have mastered so far, and (this is the most anticipated item) include a coded message to find badges, prizes, and more.

• There are pre-made Mission Letters included

• In the pre-made mission letters for 9x, 7x, 8x, and 12x, we refer to the students as “Agents” instead of “Cadets” since they were promoted after completing all other times tables.

• There are several different secret codes that can be used to create a coded message depending on the times table your cadet/agent is currently studying.

• You can download all the secret codes here OR you can click on a number below to see the suggested code for that times table.

• During the week, send your cadet/agent a top secret mission letter.

• In the mission letter you can talk about that week’s “assignment,” congratulate them on any multiplication tables they have mastered so far, and (this is the most anticipated item) include a coded message to find badges, prizes, and more.

• There are pre-made Mission Letters included

• In the pre-made mission letters for 9x, 7x, 8x, and 12x, we refer to the students as “Agents” instead of “Cadets” since they were promoted after completing all other times tables.

• There are several different secret codes that can be used to create a coded message depending on the times table your cadet/agent is currently studying.

• You can download all the secret codes here OR you can click on a number below to see the suggested code for that times table.

• Our pre-made coded messages generally lead cadets/agents to find badges or prizes

BADGES:

• We made special badges for our cadets/agents after they mastered each multiplication table. You can purchase those badges here or simply make your own using this free template.

PRIZES:

• In addition to or in replace of a math club badge, the prize your coded message leads to could be a piece of candy, a note of encouragement, or anything that would be fun for your cadet to find at the end.
  2. You could also create your own “Multiplication Money” instead of prize, that they could earn each week and spend at the end of the whole program.
  Alternative coded message ideas:
  1. You can make one message lead to more hidden messages before the final prize
  2. If you don’t want to lead to a prize, you could make the coded message a joke or riddle they have to solve or a question they have to answer and turn back in.