Tables of 6, 7, 8 and 9 in your hands

At the age of 8 I had to learn the multiplying tables. I've never been good at memorizing lists or tables. It was easy to learn the tables from 1 to 5 but from 6 to 9 it seemed to be way more complicated... A year later I heard this trick on the radio and it saved my life. Since then I've taught it to many other kids. I passed such a bad time at school as I was the only one in my class who didn't know the tables so I hope this trick was useful for any parent or teacher who knew any child in this situation

SPREAD THE KNOWLEDGE!

Step 1: Ascribe values

- First put your hands in front of you as shown in the drawing
- In each hand, ascribe a value from 6 to 10 to each finger

Comments

[jeaninfla]

Sounds like it works, I have needed an answer to this problem for years ! Thanks.

[asingh102]

Awesome haha :D.. Thanks alot..

[Vonnie2]

UGH! Still trying to understand... Other examples please? I know my multiplication but my son struggles memorizing the totals even if he gets the point of multiplication. If he says 6 x 6 - he would actually have to group dots into 6 of 6.... then count it all.mm

[softenersreviews]

Ah! i've got it working! thank you so much!

[angelprojekt]

I still remember spending many tearful hours memorizing multiplication tables in third grade... Although this method seems rather slow, solution-wise (as opposed to memorized recollection/regurgitation), and would likely not have gotten me through my timed tests, it would have been a comfort to know that, in a pinch, I could "look up" the answer on my hands!

[peggalicous]

omg I love you lol ,, this is amazing!!!! I could never remember.. have to add that I am 45 yrs old ..... weeeeeeeeee I can multiply :D

[shazni]

Yey! you are in the finals! hope you win as you have helped many with this method! :-)

[hertzgamma]

Nice to share, but this is all found in google:

http://alefalletti.wordpress.com/category/educacion/

also

http://vsegda-tvoj.livejournal.com/4261633.html

Rules say: "Each entry must be entirely the original work of the persons identified in the entry;"

[misko13]

Those two links show a post published on Sep 12, 2012, I published this instructable on August 29,2012. That post has been made using these pictures I made using photoshop. Some other people also published it in their websites:

http://lifehacker.com/5942037/quickly-multiply-single+digit-numbers-with-your-hands

http://www.meneame.net/story/como-multiplicar-manos

As I say in the first step " I heard this trick on the radio". I made the step by step pictures and explanations. When I entered the contest the Instructables staff should have seen that. I guess that if they had thought this instructable didn't follow the rules they wouldn't have accepted it.

[hertzgamma]

Then, you're kind of the pioneer. Congratulations, this is a realy helpful instructables!
My apologies, I did not want to dishonour you and I'm sorry if I did!

You have my vote :)

[misko13]

It's all OK! Didn't feel dishonoured at all. You just needed an explanation...
Thanks for the vote :D

[themoose64]

Its cool how no matter what numbers you multiply this method works. Nice instructable.

[Allykat]

WOW, I wish I had known this when I was a kid but I will definitively share this with my kids Thank you, than you, thank you.

[wapatterson]

Thank you so much for posting this! I'm going to use it with my daughter who has a large problem with math and this will help her immensely!!!

[misko13]

The smile in her face will be priceless!

[Penolopy Bulnick]

My mind has just been blown! I didn't think it could be that easy, but I sat here doing a bunch of equations and they all came out right. Pretty awesome!

[shazni]

Thanks a lot! i learned the 9 times method from another instructable and taught it to my daughter....we were both grateful and taught it to her class mates too! yay! now
this...oh how wonderful....i would definitely vote for you on the hands down educational contest! 5 stars!

[sherrycayheyhey]

I knew about the 9s trick (even though I learned it waaaay after 3rd grade when it would have been the most useful haha) but I had no idea there was a similar way for the 6s, 7, and 8s. Even though it still requires some multiplication is seems like it's still a really nice trick for those struggling with multiplication.

[azharz]

Wow, thanks for this because my Maths test is near.

[westerndecor]

I used that before when I was in elementary school. Great Idea!

[r4f]

Great Instructable!
I must confess I prefer (my children) to learn them by heart, so that it finish to be assimilated as something that I've always known...
When one studies knowledge management a little bit, one meets the competency matrix.
Applied to multiplying tables it can be seen this way :

• 1st step: before the age of 8 (depending on countries), pupils don't know  that they don't know the multiplying tables. It's an unconscious incompetence; 
• 2nd step: they go to school and the teacher speak about this notion and they discover that they don't know how to do it. It's then a conscious incompetence;
• 3rd step: they learn, forget, learn again, practice, re-re-learn them and finally they master them. It has become a conscious competence;
• 4th step: 3 years later, they learn far more complex notions, like mathematical equations, and use the multiplication tables every day (even outside of school), generally without wondering what they need to use as a mathematical knowledge. It's now an unconscious competence;

But if one teaches them a way to avoid learning them by heart (with such a workaround), I fear it takes far more time and efforts before it becomes an unconscious competence.

I think what matters more is to find a way to make pupils learn them while playing instead of teaching pupils a way not to learn them.

[misko13]

Thanks for your comment. I agree with you, it's way better to know them by heart, but in my case that was too much for that age. As time passed by I ended up learning them by hearth as I used them everyday at school. Now I'm studying civil engineering and I don't even realize I'm multiplying ;D

[r4f]

I fully agree with your quote "that was too much for that age"
There are already so many things to learn before being really in need for multiplication tables... 

[CementTruck]

I swear I live in Truman's world (and I'm Truman - from the movie "The Truman Show"). I was just remembering how some of my classmates used to use this trick at school and I never understood how it worked. I always wanted to know but just never googled it. And now here it is in my google reader...a mere day or so after I my walk down memory lane.