Skip Counting Songs for Multiplication and Division Facts

Skip Counting Songs to Learn Multiplication and Division

I was slow to get her oldest to master multiplication facts. By the middle of third grade, my daughter was tested weekly on multiplication; times twos, times five and times ten were not so hard but then all of a sudden, we had a week to learn x3, then another week for x4, and on and on. Yikes. A fast way to learn multiplication was in order. Luckily, my mom friend was a third grade teacher. She found that some children learn very effortlessly though song. These are the skip-counting songs that she taught in her classroom. Although, my daughter wasn’t that excited to sing these songs, hearing them sung incessantly helped her to master multiplication, and these songs work even better for division.

p.s. Other math posts.

Math Karaoke App for Learning Math Facts

More Multiplication Strategies from Kids That Work

Math Facts Games for Kids

Skip Counting Songs to Learn Multiplication (and Division)

Times 8 — This is best song. Sing to the tune of “She’ll Be Coming Around the Mountain”

8, 16, 24, 32….40!

48, 56, 64….72!

8 times 10 equals 80, 8 times 11 equals 88, and 8 times 12 is 96…. Hurrah! Hurrah!

Times 7 – Sing to the tune of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” (which incidentally is the same tune as the ABC song)

7, 14, 21

28, 35, 42

49, 56, 63, 70

7, 14, 21

28, 35, 42

Times 4 – Sing to tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”

4, 8, 12, 16

20, 24

28, 32, 36, and 40

44, 48

Times 6- Sing to tune of “The Star Spangled Banner”

6, 12, 18 24

30, 36

42, 48, 54….60

Times 3 – Sing to tune of “Oh My Darlin’ Clementine”

3, 6, 9

12, 15

18 and 21

24, 27, 30 and 33.

Multiplying by 9’s Digit Trick

This link is great because it has great visuals.

Spread your hands in front of you and put your far left finger down for factor that you are calculating that is not 9.

9 x 1 = 9
See how there are 9 fingers to the right of the folded pinkie? 0 + 9 = 9

Count out and fold the finger

9 x 2 = 18, see how there is 1 next to the folded finger and then 8 to the right of that? 10 + 8 = 18

Count the fingers to the left of the folded finger. In this example, there are two. This is the first digit of your answer. Write it down. Then add the fingers to the right of the folded finger. There are 8 fingers. 1 and 8. 18.

9 x 3 = 27

See how there are 2 fingers to the left of folded finger and 7 to the right?

20 + 7 = 27

9 x 4 = 36

See how there are 3 fingers folded to left of the finger and 6 to the right?

30 + 6 = 36

Count the fingers to the right of the folded finger. In this example, there are six. This is the second digit of the answer. Write it down to the right of the number you wrote down in the previous step. In this case, the number will now read 36 or thirty-six.

9 x 5 = 45

4 fingers to left of folded finger. 5 fingers to the right of folded finger.

40 + 5 = 45

9 x 6 = 54

5 fingers to left of folded finger. 4 fingers to the right of folded finger. 50 + 4= 54

Write down the number of fingers to the left of folded finger. 5. This is the first number. Then the number of fingers to left of folded finger.

50 + 4 = 54

9 x 7 = 63
6 fingers to left of folded finger. 3 Fingers to the Right.

60 + 3 = 63

9 x 8 = 72

7 fingers to the left of folded finger. 2 fingers to the left of it.

70 + 2 = 72

9 x 9 = 81
8 fingers to left of folded finger. 1 finger to the right of it.

80 + 1 + 81

9 x 10 = 90

You just have to add a zero next to the 9 for x 10.

8 x 8 Math Fact Rhyme

Her teacher taught the class this rhyme that has enabled her 4 year-old brother to master this one math fact (8 x 8):

I ate and I ate until I threw up on the floor,

so 8 times 8 is 64!

I also like flash cards. The easy way is just to sort cards by what your child knows, and focus on the cards that s/he is learning. Another slightly more fun way is to pick all the cards out of a box and if you know the card you take it out, if not, put it back. Keep doing it until the box is empty.

Free and Fun Multiplication Math Games

My 4th grade daughter’s teacher sent home these math games. She plays them daily and she loves them! Games 2 and 3 are her favorite! If the links don’t work, cut and paste into browser or use Math Games links below post.

1. Cyber Challenge: This website gives 60 second math fact tests. When the 60 seconds is up, the student is able to see which math facts they mastered as well as the ones they got wrong. My daughter thinks this game is boring so start with this one.

2. Math Blox Game: In previous years, this website has been a class favorite. It offers each student the opportunity to practice the particular math fact that they are working on. For example, if a student has trouble with the 5’s, they can consistently practice just that skill. This is my daughter’s favorite game as well. It’s great to practice by a particular fact family; I think it’s easier to learn facts this way as well.

3. Academic Skill Builders Race Car Game. This website usually sparks the most interest in mastering multiplication facts. It offers students the opportunity to host their own car racing game or join in on a car race with others. In order to get your car moving, you need to gas it up by answering a multitude of basic math fact problems correctly. It truly is a ton of fun. My daughter likes this game but the multiplication facts can be easy. In a race, there might be 5 facts that are times 1. The game gives you the problems you get wrong, plus this slows your race car down.

Pragmatic Mom suggests playing three games per session. Start with game #1 as it’s the most boring of the three. Next go to game two and work on a particular x factor. Game #3 is really fun because you race against yourself or other kids. There are other games if you click on the link on the first screen. You can also customize some of the games for certain fact families if you make the game “private.”

I posted a TON of free and fun web games on the footer at the bottom of my blog.

I set these up as links so just click on the game you want to play and you will be automatically sent there.

Have fun!

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11 thoughts on “Skip Counting Songs for Multiplication and Division Facts”

I love you! I’ve been looking for good ways to drill multiplication into my daughter’s head. The flash cards are so boooooooooring.

Skip counting is more than a memory aid–it helps kids later on when they need to use and understand multiples. Some math programs make this a regular part of learning multiplication. This song is particularly helpful to auditory kids. I can still recall my 3rd grade teacher’s multiplication chants. “9 time 6 is 54, shut the door and say no more!”

Pragmatic Mom says:

September 30, 2012 at 9:32 pm

Hi Evelyn,
I just recited that 9 times 6 one to my kids! Thanks! It’s hard to find great rhymes for math facts. The one that is stuck with me is:
I ate and ate and I threw up on the floor, so 8 times 8 is 64. It does work! I can’t seem to get it out of my mind. I noticed that when my oldest was learning her multiplication tables, she’d recite those skip counting songs and she ticked off which number … it definitely worked for her!

Reply
1. Pragmatic Mom says:
  
  September 30, 2012 at 9:34 pm
  
  Hi Evelyn,
  Do you believe the research that says that kids DO not learn a particular way (ie visual or auditory?). I don’t buy it. My oldest is definitely someone who learns visually. Did you see that study?
  
  Reply
Pragmatic Mom says:

October 2, 2012 at 5:49 pm

Hi Evelyn,
Today at lunch with my middle daughter and her friend, I learned that they are having trouble with their 8x tables. So we sang the skip counting song and they actually liked it! It’s the best song out of the skip counting ones because it has a fun tune (She’ll Be Coming Around the Mountain). Though I had to write it out because it’s not that easy for me to remember all the facts:

8, 16, 24, 32, 40! (You really belt out the 40!)
48, 56, 64, 73!! (Same with 73!)
8 times 10 equals 80,
8 times 11 equals 88
And 8 times 12 equals 96, Hurrah, Hurrah!!

Reply

Brilliant post. I’ll be coming back to this one for the songs in a couple of years.
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Pragmatic Mom says:

October 6, 2012 at 8:09 am

Hi Rebecca,
Thanks so much! We used the skip counting songs for the 8x this past week and it’s a fun way to learn. It seems to be helping my daughter. I’m not sure if she’s an auditory learner but it’s more than she doesn’t mind drilling this way. She is less inclined to use flash cards but we will also play some web games and I’ll set it up to isolate the 8x facts.

http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/games/grand_prix/grand_prix.html and use custom to set the math facts.

Reply

Can’t believe this but we are on 8’s this week – timing is perfect! And my daughter so loves to put things to music so this is perfect -thank you!
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