Many of us can remember learning multiplication and division. The chanting and reciting full sets as a class, revising the multiplication table at home with our parents. You might have even had a poster of them Blu tacked to our bedroom wall.

The jump from knowing how to add and subtract numbers to becoming familiar with multiplication can feel large, and complex. However, once mastered, it can become second nature to a child and is fundamental in day to day life.

ADVANTAGES OF LEARNING MULTIPLICATION

Although many of these methods of teaching multiplication have become outdated, the importance of learning these mathematical basics is as important today as it has ever been.

Multiplication is a main tool for many forms of maths such as algebra, calculus, equations and more. The ability to rehearse and understand multiplications up to and including 12 by the final year of primary school will enable your child to confidently and skilfully tackle the more complex mathematical subjects.

It also helps them to familiarise and feel confident with the teachings presented to them as they progress through education.

BUILDS CONFIDENCE IN MATHEMATICS

The ability to fully understand multiplication and have fluency and instant recall will boost your child’s confidence in the subject.

Many of the tasks they are required to do both at school, and in the home requires this basic skill. Examples may include:

• Laying the table for dinner when guests are expected.
• Calculating exchange rates for spending money on holiday.
• Working out the days of the weeks, months or years.

These daily uses of multiplication come naturally to many, and highlight the regular use of the skill, reinforcing the importance of learning this from a young age.

IMPROVED PROBLEM- SOLVING ABILITIES

As a child becomes faster at recalling multiplications of 2 -12, they will be able to solve more complex maths in much less time. This is because the core understanding has already been established. They will exercise this skill like second nature, enabling them to focus on the more difficult aspects of the task.

AN ESSENTIAL SKILL FOR LONG MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION

Fluency in multiplication will also allow your child, as they progress through their school years, to use these necessary skills and build upon them with more ease as the mathematics taught becomes more complicated.

Generally, division and long multiplication are introduced into a child’s curriculum following basic multiplication. Without this primary knowledge, the following stages would be much more challenging to understand and process.

ROMOTES NUMBER SENSE

Maths, in most circumstances, is a manipulation of numbers, in many different forms. However, these tasks, simple or complex, require a strong ‘number-sense’.

Developing key skills and practising them frequently, supports your child’s development of number sense. This can include progressive skills in:

• Counting
• Grouping
• Estimation
• Quantity
• Time
• Distance