My Passion for Teaching : Multiplication Tables

Apart from teaching at the school, I had a small classroom in the building too. It was on the landing before the terrace. I had a standing blackboard, chalk, duster and a few students. The subject was Maths, of course. I seemed to have a flair for it. My students took me seriously and I thoroughly enjoyed my role as their teacher.

The multiplication tables were given great importance. If my teacher said it was important, it was important for my students too. My Math teacher Mrs. Rodriguez said tables were very important and we must say them every day. So each of us had to chant our tables 1 to 12 (till 12 x 12, unlike today, where it is 12 x 10) turn by turn. How boring it was and yet, a challenge. Nobody wanted to get it wrong! If you did, you were left standing. Thus, the whole class, as well as those who peeped into the class from the corridor,  knew you did not know your tables.😅

Though my Maths was good, I found rote learning of tables extremely boring. For the longest time, I was confused about two things. Was 7 x 8 = 56 or 54? Was 9 x 6 = 56 or 54? 😖

My students, too, were told tables were important. We chanted any two tables every evening together. Teaching and playing, playing or teaching, we had such fun together!

In my frequent discussions with Bharatiben Trivedi and the late Chandraben Bhatia, principals of Amrit Jyoti School, Ahmedabad, I found that they as students, learnt tables of fractions!
e.g.  1/2 x 1 = 1/2
        1/2 x 2 = 1
        1/2 x 3 = 1 1/2 and so on.
They would recite the tables for 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4.  I found it to be extraordinary!
Why don't they teach our children these anymore?

I had numerous worksheets for my son which he solved cheerfully. You can find such worksheets for practice in the Mental Maths section of our website, www.starchild.in

Today, there are many fun ways to learn tables They can be learnt through music, games, colouring worksheets and what not.

Here are some links you could use to teach your children.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBTGKiVgWcA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3PojOwjHcc
http://www.goteachthis.com/multiplication-dice-game-2-3-5-10-times-tables




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