Skip Counting, Multiplication, And How To Get From One To Another.

 

As I have been doing more research on number lines, I realized that many of my students get to high school with the ability to skip count but didn't know their multiplication tables.  I've accepted that skip counting might be the only way they know but I've often wondered why they didn't make the jump from one to the other.

Skip counting is often the first thing students are taught in their journey into multiplication.  From there , they move on to learning multiplication and multiplication facts but some students never make the jump.

It is never too late to do things to help students make the jump from skip counting to multiplication.  These steps can be done in middle school or high school as part of the scaffolding activities. First, think about using visual representations such as number lines, counters, or arrays to help make students see how skip counting and multiplication is related since both are a form of repeated addition.

Another activity using counters, cubes, or blocks is to have students arrange these manipulatives to represent skip counting. So if a student is skip counting by three's, arrange the manipulatives in groups of three so they count by three's, then they can ease over to the idea of counting the number of groups to arrive at the total. Both ways get the student to the total but one is strictly addition and the other ways shows the idea of groups times number in group gives total.

Look at having students explore patterns and extensions associated with skip counting.  For instance, list the pattern for four's skip counting and leave blanks such as 4, 8, ____, 16, _____, etc.  Extend this to the idea that one 4 is 4, two 4's is eight, so three four's is 12 which is the missing number.  This helps students make the jump from skip counting to multiplication.

Throw in some questions which require students to use skip counting in a real life situation such as buying 5 packages of 12 screws so a student might do 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 or 5 x 12 is 60. This provides a real life connection between skip counting and multiplication.  

Finally, give students a chance to practice, practice practice.  Provide students the opportunity to play games, make posters, and other methods to give them a chance to practice. Start with easier problems and move to problems that are more complex.

These are just a few ways to help students move from skip counting to multiplication.  Once students have multiplication down, it is important to include continued practice.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.