4th Grade Math Games
The fourth grade is a big year for students in elementary school because it is the year that the curriculum for math that they have ahead of them includes learning multiplication and eventually division. While at the earlier grade levels, the students did begin to appreciate number relationships, that awareness of the depth and the scope of the diversity of the math universe expands tremendously when the students get an understanding of these two core math principles.
Stepping from third to fourth grade is more than just a one year jump. It is the beginning of the child's really sophistication of their knowledge of math. Parents and teachers of fourth graders who have been hands on in helping the kids learn the very basic number principles should redouble those efforts in the fourth grade because many young people stall out trying to grasp the concepts of multiplication and division. And despite many new advances in learning multiplication, there still is no substitute for memorizing the multiplication tables to lay that groundwork for a lifetime of success in math.
There are a number of helps that parents can use to move the process of getting those math tables down for their fourth grader just learning multiplication. Posters can be hung in the child's room that are colorful and that utilize the youngsters favorite television star or cartoon characters as they surround the various tables that need to be memorized. Since children love to be read to, you can find many age appropriate books where happy and comical characters work parts of the multiplication table into a story. These are good small steps forward that put off the dreaded drilling with flash cards that is so difficult and is often a tedious method for learning these skills.
It also helps to make the multiplication tables a fun part of family life by using them as a game in many situations. You can create songs of various tables to sing in the car on a long road trip. Or it can be a challenge game that calls on the youngster to "think fast" when dad suddenly surprises him or her with "think fast eight times nine". The fun of turning those boring tables into a part of the fun of family life is often all it takes to eventually get all of the tables under control.
These are just a few simple methods that can be used to put off or avoid completely the specter of drilling using flash cards that everybody hates. Your child's fourth grade teacher may have many more interesting games that can be used to incorporate the multiplication tables into a fun activity. And that only scratches the surface because, like everything else, the interent is overflowing with great online games that will do a great job of making the multiplication tables roll off your fourth graders tongue like he was saying his name. Its just a matter of looking for creative and fun alternatives that can make even something boring like learning the math tables a happy and memorable experience for parents and child alike.
