Different ways to arrive at the same answer

It is sometimes the simple equipment which is the best and it doesn't come much simpler than interlocking plastic cubes. These simple, yet effective, cubes have been so useful in giving a clear visual on the different multiplication problems that end up with the exact same answer.

We were working in partner pairs on this work which also led to a good deal of mathematical discussion and great team work.

You write it down and I will show it with cubes

Venn diagrams and times tables

Knowing your times tables is one of the important things we work on in Year 4. When thinking about two different times tables at once it can be quite a challenge. To help our understanding we have been using a practical Venn diagram where the answers from one times table go on one side, the answers from another times table go on the other side and the same answers that appear in both of them go in the middle.

Seeing it in this practical way where we have to physically place the numicon tiles really helps in securing the times tables facts.