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Introduction

       Think about multiplication. Think about when you use it. Think about how you arrive at your answer when you need to know what 6 times 6 equals.  It is interesting to note that most adults rarely use multiplication except with fairly small numbers.  It almost always is a situation where they are estimating how much of something they need. For example, they want to give each child three pieces of candy and they know that there will be nine children there.  So they multiply three times nine, and then they buy 30, not 27 pieces of candy.  It never enters their mind that they are actually multiplying nine groups of three, or any of the other general multiplication concepts that we attempt to teach children.

It is interesting to also look at math education in general.  When was the last time that you added a column of four numbers each containing four digits?  When was the last time that you needed to subtract two very specific numbers such as: 235 minus 87?  In most people's lives, math comes down to rough estimates.  There is nothing wrong with having the ability to add long columns of numbers, or do long division by hand but those skills that we use most, appear to be taught the least. Unless we are engineers or accountants, math usually comes down to how many sodas can I buy for three dollars if they cost fifty cents each. Or how much lumber do I need to build a fence forty feet long.  When was the last time you multiplied 4.12 times 120?Probably not recently or often.  Even if you do use that type of math frequently, you don't consider concepts, you simply need to know that 6 times 6 equals 36.Most teachers begin to teach multiplication by teaching concepts.  It is probably then that most students make the decision that this multiplication stuff is just excessively complex for them.  Later when teachers and students realize how boring it is to just recite the multiplication tables, they don't recite them.  At this point the case is closed!  It wasn't that way many years ago.

There is only one general method of getting facts in your head, you must somehow use those facts numerous times.  It appears that some people must interact with facts more often than others do to make the information "stick.  "When we estimate we need to know the multiplication tables, ditto for long division and the other many uses for the multiplication facts.  Those facts need to be in our head, ready for recall. Plain and simple, we need to get those numbers in our head.  There really is only one way for 99 percent of people to get this task accomplished.  Repetition, period.  It is no mystery, it is a fact that you know.  How do you become a good basketball player?  By playing basketball.  Not by studying underlying concepts and watching others play. Sure these activities might make Michael Jordan two percent better, but it is his practice that makes him close to perfect.  Repetition combined with attitude make Mr. Jordan the champ we all know him to be.  You don't play the piano well because you didn't practice enough. Your attitude about taking piano lessons probably stunk also.  Attitude plays a crucial function in learning to read, learning the multiplication tables and most anything else of value in life. We will discuss attitude in more detail in a later chapter. 

We devised "Eating Numbers" after we developed a very successful reading program based on the same principles. "Eating Numbers" comes down to attitude, repetition and modeling (A.R.M.). In the reading program that we developed, neuro-reading, students who had never been able to learn to read, learned to read well using these principles. 

Let's Get Started

It is necessary to understand what the student already knows before you begin to teach them.  As mentioned previously, you must also make a definitive departure from what they have been experiencing in the past. Otherwise, they will simply turn off to this or any other approach.

                                 Illus. #1 

Tell them that the fingers are numbered one through ten and show them which finger is number one, two, etc.  It is usually best to bend each finger as you state what number it represents.  They are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 as shown in illustration #2.The tenth finger is number ten, not number zero. 

                                  Illus. #2 

Make sure that you totally understand the following before you attempt to explain it.  Most people are somewhat amazed at how this works and because of that the memory stays with them.  If your student has never seen this they will feel that amazement.  (What do you do if they already know this? Skip it and start with the first set of numbers that they don't know.) 

To begin bend your left ring finger down, that is finger number two. Tell your student that if you want to know what two times nine is, you bend the number two finger down and then look at the number of fingers remaining. As in illustration #3, the number two finger is bent down.  Look at the fingers that remain standing on both sides of the bent finger. On the left of the bent finger there is one finger remaining.  On the right of the bent finger there are eight fingers left standing. A one (1) and an eight (8) equal 18. Two times nine equals eighteen.

Illus. #3 

Illustration number 4 shows the finger representation for 3 times 9 = 27.The third finger is bent representing three times nine.  The remaining fingers are two to the left and seven to the right. A two (2) and a seven (7) represent twenty seven (27).
 
 

Illus. #4 

Illustration 5 represents four times nine. The fourth finger is bent. The fingers remaining are three to the left of the bent finger and six to the right of the bent finger. A three (3) and a six (6) equal 36.  Illustration 6 shows five times nine. Illustration 7 shows 6 times nine, illustration number 8 shows the 7 times nine.  Illustration 9 represents 8 times nine and illustration 10  represents the 9 times 9.Illustration 11 represents 10 times 9.

Illus. #5   5 x 9 = 45 

Illus. #6   6 x 9 = 54 

Illus. #7   7 x 9 = 63 

Illus. #8   8 x 9 = 72 

Illus. #9   9 x 9 = 81 

Illus. #10   10 x 9 = 90 

It is a shame that we can't do all of the sets on our hands, it would make life so much easier as well as so much more amazing. Kids love doing the nines like this. If they have never seen this before it will give them a new energy to learn the multiplication tables. If they all ready know this you will have some more selling to do. After they have learned the above or if they all ready know it, you are ready to begin the other part of this program. The next part is not as fascinating but it does work. You will need to sell this program to your student because if they don't trust it they will not learn it. I explain this method to children (and adults) like this; all learning relies on repetition and attitude. 

It does not matter what you are learning, it could just as easily be basketball as it is multiplication.  How do you think Michael Jordan became such a great basketball player? How about Cal Ripkin Jr.? Repetition and determination. Many people don't realize what great athletes do to become great. Lets look at Cal Ripkin Jr. for a minute. When he played a home game in Baltimore, the game would start at 7 p.m. and end around 10:30 p.m. What time do you think he went to the ballpark? He would usually be there around noon. Why? So he could practice. He would practice until 4 or 5 and then play in that night's game. After the game ended he would wait till people left the stadium and then he would practice some more until midnight or 1 a.m. It is easy to understand why he became what he did.