Multiplication Facts: Why Memorization Matters

There is a mathematical tragedy occurring inside many elementary schools in math these days and it's this: Students are not learning their multiplication facts. Yep, I said it. If this isn’t your elementary school, then that's great for you and your students! But I know many of you are nodding your head in agreement, because I see this in classrooms and hear it from teachers all the time. Lest you think I'm being dramatic, let’s take a look a little deeper and see what’s going on here and why it's so important. 

First of all, I know how old this statement is going to make me sound (so please don't put me in an insurance commercial just yet!). But, when I was in elementary school, we were forced to memorize multiplication facts for our own good.  We would write them 10 times each over and over and have frequent “around the world game” contests based on multiplication facts. Those were so much fun, and I wanted to beat Brent Strength so bad I would go home and practice with flashcards without anyone having to twist my arm to get me to do it.

The Memorization Dilemma 

Inside most 3rd grade classrooms today, the focus has shifted towards prioritizing students' understanding of the logistics of multiplication through learning about equal groups and arrays and away from ensuring they memorize facts. Not that learning about multiplication in this way is not important, because it is very important, but the pendulum has swung too far. 

I feel like if a teacher assigned students to write multiplication facts to help them memorize them in today’s world, she/he would be considered some ancient form of evil. And they better not even think of assigning that for homework because nobody has time for that and most of the students probably wouldn’t do it.  Multiplication games in the classroom on a consistent basis are also a thing of the past since the math curriculum stretches too many lessons over not enough instructional days amidst the AR & attendance celebrations, fundraiser pep rallies and testing, testing, testing. 

The Trouble with Not Memorizing Multiplication Facts Early

So, what's the big deal? When kids don't successfully memorize multiplication facts in third grade, they head into fourth and fifth grade unprepared when they start skills like long division and multiplying multi-digit numbers and need to be able to quickly recall facts from memory. Teachers at these grade levels need to be able to teach those skills though, and don't have time to go back and teach multiplication facts.

Oftentimes, students are handed multiplication charts to help them limp along through solving problems while they continue to “learn them.” The hope is that by being repeatedly exposed to multiplication facts in this way, students will naturally get better at recalling them. However, many students do not ever achieve fact fluency this way. Don't get me wrong - multiplication charts can be a great tool (and we've even got an awesome multiplication chart printable you can download for free). But when students become too dependent on using them, they solve problems at a turtle pace as they have to stop and find answers on the chart. The result is that students who don't know their multiplication facts can get left behind.

The Multiplication Facts Gap

Not ALL students will fail to learn their multiplication facts, even when the emphasis in the classroom isn't on memorization. First, you have some who are just naturally good at memorizing math facts! These are probably the same students who can quickly recall addition and subtraction facts as well and pick up multiplication facts pretty quickly. Then, you have the students whose parents take an active role in having their children memorize multiplication facts at home. They may be oldies like me who remember it as a rite of passage and make their kids keep practicing until they've mastered them. 

But for the other students who are not in one of those groups, keeping up in math becomes increasingly difficult. Think about it. When students are introduced to something like multiplying 3-digit numbers for example, they need to be able to focus on learning the multiple steps required to successfully solve the problem. If they can't quickly recall multiplication facts, they instead have to spend time and energy just figuring out the answers to basic facts and end up losing track, taking what feels like forever to finally complete the problem. Or they get the steps right and still end up with a wrong answer because they couldn't remember the correct answer to 6 x 9 on step two. 

Sounds frustrating, right? It is! Kids experiencing this challenge lose confidence quickly. I'm just not good at math can set in as this scenario repeats itself again and again with the expansion into more complex multiplication & division problems, fractions, decimals, geometry, measurement & more. 

A Plan for Memorizing Multiplication Facts

So here we are. Let's put an end to this and make sure our children and students memorize those multiplication facts no later than 3rd grade! While it may be difficult to find the time, I have mapped out a plan to make teaching them and memorizing them easier. 

• Students learn the easiest facts first including the 0s, 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s.  These are the facts that have rules students can apply to easily obtain the answer as well as facts that are easy to skip count with.  
• Next, teach facts that have widely known “tricks” students can apply when finding their products including the 11s and 9s.
• Then present the 3s and 4s taking time to ensure that students learn each skip counting sequence correctly so that they can use it to find these products. There are tons of great videos on YouTube with songs that can help make this fun and easy!
• Last but not least, teach students how to use the 11s facts (they should already know) to quickly and easily calculate the answers to the 12s facts : 8 x 12 = ?  *think 8x11=88 plus 8 more is 96!

Wait!  We didn’t cover the 6s, 7s and 8s!  That’s right! This is because if students have learned all of the previously mentioned facts, then they have also learned almost all of the 6s, 7s and 8s with the exception of 6 little facts that they will need to memorize. These 6 facts are the only straight memorization of multiplication facts a student will have to do if they follow this plan:

• 6x6=36
• 6x7=42
• 6x8=48
• 7x7=49
• 7x8=56
• 8x8=64

Resources for Learning Multiplication Facts

We have taken this outline, along with all of the scaffolding and differentiation suggestions and created what we think is the ultimate resource for you to have in your classroom when teaching multiplication facts. Our Strategies for Learning Multiplication Facts 0-12 set includes the roadmap and all the worksheets and practice you need to go along with it. 

Learning those multiplication facts is so important for third graders and can set them up for future success, or failure, in math. Whether you're a parent or a teacher, you can help them as they embark on their journey with this suggested plan making the process easier and less overwhelming. (And don’t be afraid to make them write those last 6 facts they need to memorize 10 times each!)