Computation Challenge: 2 Digit Multiplication (The Results)

Although I usually only post on Wednesdays, I wanted to continue sharing the results of yesterday's post about our 100s day math game.  Overall, the two digit by two digit multiplication game I created for my fourth graders was a big hit!  I had a couple kids thank me for two reasons: they thanked me because it was fun, and they thanked me because they could tell it was helping them hone their computation skills.  One girl told me, "I have had to do 8x9 so many times that I've got it now; I'm definitely not going to forget it!" 

There were a few problems with this 100s day math activity.  I had one girl who put way too much pressure on herself, so in the final 10 minutes of the game when she got one wrong she went over to a corner in the room and broke down in tears.  This is why I don't do competition very often.  But I simply said to her firmly, but in a caring voice, "Don't you dare cry.  You scored WAY too many points for your team today to cry.  You hold your head up high and be proud of yourself for that.  Understand?"  She smiled and wiped her tears away.  And one of the boys who had called her a good teacher earlier, because he was one of the kids who couldn't solve the problems independently until she helped him today, spent a couple minutes consoling her until she got up to start another problem.

Another problem was a boy on the other team who decided to try to win the game single-handedly for his team.  He tried to take on as many problems as he could instead of helping his teammates to do the problems.  He also did something in the end that felt a little bit ruthless.  The game was down to a tie.  Two girls were working together on a problem and double and triple checking it, afraid that they would get it wrong as their whole team watched on bated breath.  He solved his last problem and held onto it.  When asked why he didn't bring it over, he said, "Because their problem is easier.  I already know the answer to it.  If they get it wrong, they have to give it to me, and I'll hand that one in and win the game." 

I wasn't sure if I should allow that or not.  Was it a good strategy, or ruthless?  I decided to say nothing and see what his peers thought.  If it upset the other kids, I'd have put a stop to it.  But they seemed to take it in stride, so I allowed it.  I'm still not sure if I sent the right message by doing that, but I can always watch for other opportunities to help him learn about fair play.  Just as I did a few minutes later.

Because in the end:

It was a tie game!

The Tie-Breaker

I sat everyone down in front of the game board and asked:

"Why do you think we did this activity?"  We could have done lots of activities for 100s day.

The kids answered:

"It let us practice 2x2 digit multiplication."
"You let us pick the regular way or the lattice way."  

"It got us ready for the math MCAS.

"Yes, but what do you think was my non-math reason?"

"It made us work as a team."

"Yes," I answered.  "I wanted you to work as a team; that's why I made sure you knew who on your team needed your help, and let you know you needed to help them.  So for the tie-breaker, I want to see which did more to help out their members who needed it.  You will all have to solve one problem, by yourself.  Each correct answer gets 1 point, so those kids who were taught how to solve two digit multiplication problems by their teammates will push their team to victory."

And in the end, the difference between the winning and losing team was just one point.

Computation Challenge: 2 Digit Multiplication (How To)

It seems like 2 digit by 2 digit multiplication is one of those procedures that kids HATE.  And STRUGGLE with.  And need tons of PRACTICE to master.  The question is, how do you get your fourth graders to sit down and practice all those steps enough times to really internalize them instead of raise their hand to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water, only to vanish for half of math time?

The answer: the 100s day computation challenge.  It can be done any time of year, but I thought it up on the 98th day of school this year, so I rolled it out on 100s day.  And it was a hit!

Step 1:  Set Up

I stuck 100 Post Its to our portable white board, then wrote the problems.  The thing is, my class is at the point where they really need to drill down on their 6, 7, 8, and 9s, not the easier facts.  So this time around, I was sure to get some 9s and 8s in each problem.  If I do an encore of this activity, you can bet it will feature 6s and 7s.

Step 2:   Foster Collaboration, Not Just Competition

I know that competition is healthy, but I believe it's healthy in small doses.  More important in a classroom setting is to foster social skills and teamwork.  So here's how I did it:  As usual, I gave my kids a "test" consisting of a single problem to determine who needs help, and who could give help.  They were allowed to use any method they want (my Multiplication by Color Task Cards were a great way to practice the standard algorithm).  I lined them up in two rows.  Then I alternated red and blue wristlets (stapled construction paper) so that the ability level of each team was even.  I let them know that if they "need help," they should check in with someone on their team who is a "helper" before bringing a problem up to me to be checked.  I also let them know that "helpers" should be sure to not only complete their own problems; they need to watch for their teammates who are looking for help with a step.

This was a hard lesson for SO many kids!  That's why I mentioned doing an encore above.  Not only do they need to practice their 6s and 7s, many of them had to find out for themselves that ignoring struggling teammates in order to do as many as they can on their own was not the way to go.  But more on that later.  At least some of the kids got this.  I had two students tell me during the course of the game that one of their peers is a good teacher.  "I needed help, but I don't anymore because she taught me how to do it.  I don't need to be checked now."  Huzzah!

Step 3:  Game-play and Management

To help with the pacing, that is, to prevent them from rushing in and grabbing the easy ones first, I drew a box around a big chunk of those problems in the top left corner.  I told them that they had to finish the problems in the box first, before moving on to the rest (this way those easy problems on the right and bottom edge were only accessible in the middle of the game, as a bit of an unexpected break).  I also pulled names to fairly decide who got to choose a problem first, second, third, and so on.  I had the two teams sit in different areas of the room as they worked, and then come over to me (sitting near the game board with a calculator in hand) to get in line and get their work checked.  If a student got the problem right, I colored the corner with their team color, and he/she got to stick it back up on the board.  If they got it wrong, they were required to hand the problem over to a member of the opposing team. 

Tomorrow I'll let you know how it all went down!