I saw on my blog stats that there have been a couple people looking for ways to explain long multiplication to elementary students (specifically 3rd graders).
A couple of weeks ago, I was in the mood for some educational videos. So, I did a little search on our Netflix and found a basic math video that I thought looked interesting. When we got it, I thought it was going to be the most boring thing in the world. The guy on the video left much to be desired, but he did introduce us to a wonderful new way of looking at long multiplication.
Introducing. . . Lattice Multiplication. I had never heard of it, but it has been around a while. It is easy to set up, you don’t have to work the numbers in order, and you can multiply huge numbers without getting confused or overwhelmed. My 2nd grader sat down with a dry erase board and worked along with the video, and she understood right away that it was number times number plus place value times place value to work bigger numbers. The nice thing is that this can be used later with numbers that have decimal points, fraction, etc.
Well, I can’t remember the name of the video from Netflix. But, I found a bunch of resources on You-tube and the rest of the web. So, here is what I have found so far, enjoy!!! Oh, and did I mention that it is super easy to grade? If the problem is wrong, you look and see if they did the individual boxes right, and you can instantly see where they need help in their basic tables.
Website Resources:
http://www.pedagonet.com/maths/lattice.htm
http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/52468.html
http://www.mathwire.com/numbersense/mult.html
http://www.worksheetworks.com/math/multi-digit-operations/lattice-multiplication.html
http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/lattice.html
http://www.cut-the-knot.org/Curriculum/Arithmetic/LatticeMultiplication.shtml
And if you are not looking for lattice multiplication in particular, but just multiplication and division help, you can always try the Beehive. There is a link to the entire website in my links category.
I was taught this method in Algebra and I can say it is great. I still use it today. It’s simple and easy to remember.
I am a math specialist in California and have used lattice multiplication every year with my 3rd and 4th graders. My students start to feel like they are playing a game instead of long multiplication. I have had some students continue to use this method even after being taught the traditional algorithm. After awhile, they no longer have to draw out the picture and can truly solve their problems in the same time as the traditional algorithm.
[...] 1. Lattice Multiplication [...]