How can I help my 5th student at home with mastery of multiplication facts?

Answer 1

What I saw works best amongst my siblings, friends, and even myself at that age, was to do repetitions. The easiest way to do repetitions was through games like Kahoot! (online) and through card games (my personal favorite was Zoom!) because it made everything much more engaging and easier to remember because the competitive side of every kid wants to win.

Also, if your child still just can't seem to get a specific number down (like their 9's) it's better to either review what they know already or simply take a brain break because it can get very frustrating and disheartening continuously failing to get a number right.

Answer 2

I love all of the above answers! You can try different strategies such as games, rote learning, drawing the times tables out, skip counting and see which one your child likes best! Also, a whiteboard and writing them out is fun and makes it tactile which helps retention!

Answer 3

I enjoyed reading all of the above suggestions. All great with my favorite suggestion being, MAKE IT REAL!

You can also have your student write a rap song inserting phrases like - "5x5 makes the 25 bus jive". Get noisy! Get musical!

Answer 4

Hello, thank you for taking the time to post your question!

I think a great approach to take is making practice fun and engaging. So that could mean using things like Flashcards or Online Games and apps. A great website is Multiplication.com that can make practice feel more like a game than a chore. Beyond that I think it’s important to create a consistent routine and focus on the process rather than just memorization.

Hopefully that gets you moving in the right direction! Feel free to reach out with a message if you have any questions beyond that! :)

Answer 5

Helping your 5th grader master multiplication facts at home can be fun and effective when you mix repetition with games, movement, and strategy. Here’s a simple guide with tools and tips that really work:

✅ 1. Focus on Strategy Before Speed

Make sure they understand how multiplication works before trying to go fast.

Teach shortcuts like:

1. Skip counting (2, 4, 6, 8...)
2. Doubles (e.g., 4 × 2 = 8 is just 4 + 4)
3. Patterns (5s end in 0 or 5, 9s go down by 1/up by 1)

🧩 2. Use Tools to Practice

1. Flashcards – Make or buy a set. Focus on just 1–2 fact families at a time.
2. Multiplication chart – Let them fill in parts of it from memory.
3. Apps – Try MathTango, Reflex Math, or Math Facts Pro for gamified practice.

🎲 3. Play Games

1. War (Multiplication Style) – Flip two cards, multiply them, highest product wins.
2. Roll & Multiply – Roll dice and multiply the numbers. Add challenges like beat the clock!
3. Bingo – Create a board with answers; call out multiplication problems.

🎯 4. Keep Practice Short and Daily

5–10 minutes a day is better than a long session once a week.

Try:

1. Morning review
2. Quick car ride drills
3. One fact family per week (e.g., all the 6s)

🌟 5. Celebrate Progress

Make a progress chart or earn stars/stickers for mastered facts.

Celebrate small wins like mastering one fact family (e.g., “You know all your 7s now!” 🎉)

💬 Bonus: Use Real-Life Math

Ask questions like:

1. “If we buy 4 packs of gum with 6 pieces each, how many pieces is that?”
2. “You have 3 friends coming over. If everyone gets 2 cookies, how many cookies do we need?”

Want extra support?

📚 I offer personalized 1:1 math tutoring with fun, proven strategies to build fact fluency and confidence.

Send Michele W. by scrolling to the bottom of her profile to learn more or book a free intro call! 🚀

Answer 6

I totally agree with Renea above! For my students, what I've found works best is to help them memorize skip counting using songs. A free resource you can use is to google "Numberock" on YouTube or visit their website for free, catchy songs. I'm not sponsored by them, but I love using them with all my students!

Answer 7

Skip Counting...remember doing that by 2's, 5's, 10's? Well students often stop there. Help them master their multiplication facts by skip counting by 3's, 4's, 6's, 7's, 8's and 9's.

You can do this by:

Counting aloud in the car and having them repeat... 3,6,9,12,15,18,21,24,27,30.

Writing down the numbers on paper in a vertical manner listing each number on a different line below the proceeding number. Then have them say them aloud.

Use sand or salt trays and draw the numbers in order on the tray.

If you use flashcards for practice of math facts (multiplication or otherwise...) consider making a pile of the "known" facts by showing the student and if they can answer correctly quickly then move along. If the student struggles after a couple moments, tell them the answer and place into an "unknown" pile. Go back quickly through the known for practice and then go through the unknown together and take some time discussing what they DO know and then apply that to what is UNknown. Example: 9x6, if you know 9x5, think 10 more and take away 1. OR 3x9, think 3x10 and take away 3.

Have fun~

Answer 8

Read the multiplication tables every day.

Play this game: https://www.mathplayground.com/ASB_PenguinJumpMultiplication.html