One of the struggles with teaching upper elementary math is that many of our students have not mastered their multiplication and division facts. This makes everything even more of a struggle for those students, especially when they get to 5th grade.
Through a combination of fact drills, games, and teaching actual strategies versus just memorization, I am usually able to get even my most struggling students to at least master through their 8s. (and we all know with that 9s hand trick, they are usually set if we can get them to 8).
In this post, I want to share with you (yes, for free!) all the goodies I send home with my students to practice their multiplication and division math facts at home. Pick and choose what you want, or use them all!
Flashcards
I picked up these simple (and cheap) flashcards at the Dollar Tree. Another option is to have the students make their own (I recommend they make flashcards for only the facts they struggle with).
Markerboard and Dry Erase Marker
Another staple in our math facts take home kits are markerboards and dry erase markers. Again, I picked these up from the Dollar Tree, so obviously they are not the best and have to be replaced each year (you get what you pay for 😉 ).
The students use these to practice solving their math facts using one of the strategies they have learned.
Multiplication and Division Strategies Posters
I have found that this item is what is typically lacking in math facts take home kits, but it is so important. If your students haven’t mastered their multiplication and division math facts by 5th grade, chances are that flashcards and even daily practice isn’t going to make that much of dent. Your students either need a conceptual understanding of the operations or they need strategies (or both!)
These four strategies (four for multiplication and four for division) are the most common and the most familiar to students at this point in their school lives. Ideally we really want them to eventually move to the most effective and efficient strategy (usually the last strategy of the four on the download (using related facts)), but sometimes we need to build up their conceptual understanding before we can get them there.
These strategies can be placed on a ring or left as a page. One of my suggested daily activities (more about my suggested schedule in the last section of this post) is to practice their “I Don’t Know Yet” math facts using one or more of the strategies.
Multiplication Facts Tricks Flipbook
In addition to the strategies, I also like to include my multiplication facts tricks flipbook. This works really well for students who conceptually understand multiplication, but struggle with memorization.
Want more flipbooks for math? Click here to see all of my flipbooks for 4th and 5th grade math.
Dice and Card Games for Practice
Dice and a deck of cards are two more resources in our take home kits. These are usually my students’ favorites because they use them to play games with their family members.
I also include two suggested games for dice and two games for cards.
Math Facts and Multiplication Table Charts
A multiplication tables chart is optional but I like to include it for the students to check themselves when they are practicing their flashcards and when they are playing games. I prefer to use a multiplication table chart because it helps the students further see the connection between multiplication and division.
I don’t always include this in my take home kits, but sometimes I will also send home separate multiplication facts printables and division facts printables. They work great for parents who want to quiz their students and have one piece of paper to do so from.
General Suggestions
Here are some general suggestions for using these math facts take home kits.
1.) If you have lots of students who struggle, embed regular practice in your math instruction, even if it is just 5 minutes.
2.) If you have more students who struggle than you can realistically make take home kits for, create a rotation schedule and allow the students to check out the kits. I would make enough so the students can have one every other week.
3.) I also include a suggested schedule for daily at home activities using the take home kits. I have included it in the download, but you may want to create your own based on you and your students’ needs. (The schedule is included in both the printable and digital versions and you can see the digital one below!)
4.) Implement some type of accountability to ensure the kits are being used and are working. I actually do weekly quick timed quizzes with my entire class. The students work at their own pace, so a student may be on the 4s for several weeks while another student is on 9s.
5.) If you have students who struggle with both multiplication and division, start with multiplication. If students have mastered their multiplication facts, they can usually transfer that over to division, but not typically vice-versa.
Download the FREE Multiplication and Division Practice Printables HERE
Want more FREE Multiplication and Division Resources?
Click on the links for more resources and tips.
30+ Free Multiplication and Division Partner Games
Multiplication Facts Strategy for Upper Elementary
Free 4th/5th Grade Multiplication of the Day
Free 4th/5th Grade Division of the Day
Partial Quotients Division Tips and Freebie
FREE Multiplication and Division Jenga Review
Division Strategies for 5th Grade (Anchor Chart Ideas and YouTube Video Links)
3rd Grade Multiplication of the Day
Is there anything you include in your multiplication or division take home kits that I have not? Let me know in the comments!
Wow! What an awesome resource! Thanks for sharing this as a freebie.
Thank you so much! I agree knowing their facts is part of the stumbling block getting in the way of students’ success.
Awesome resource!! Thank you so much!!!
This is such a great idea! I think that it will really help get parents on board when they have the things and directions all in one spot to help. Would it be alright if I used a picture of the kit in a grant request so that I can get the cash to put these together? Thanks so much for the idea!
That is absolutely okay, Cecilia! I hope your grant is funded!
This is absolutely amazing. Thank you for sharing this as a freebie! I can’t wait to put a few of these together!
On the multiplication facts strategies page, this is the text “Double the 7 to get 14, and then add another group of 7 to 14 to make 3 groups of 7. 14 + 7 = 28, so 3 x 7 = 28”. But, 3×7=21.
Thank you, Becky, for letting me know about that error. I have it corrected now.
This will be so helpful. It will be great to have some on hand at fall conferences to give to families of students who are struggling. Thanks for the resource.
This is great! I love all the parts and pieces that you have included. I feel like I have to “pull teeth” to get kids to practice their facts at home – or take so much time out of my math block in class. I’m wondering if you have something similar for addition and subtraction? I have third grade and my year begins by “review” those facts. Most of my kids need the extra practice but don’t work at it. Thanks for all the work you put into your products!
I love this idea! I’m also wondering what kind of bag you used to hold all the contents of the take home toolkit?
Hi Jennifer,
I love this idea and wrote a Donor’s Choose to get all of the materials for a kit for all of my students. Am wondering if you send home alerted to parents explaining the use of the kit, I am worried that they’ll lose it.
Do you have a Subtraction & Addition with Regrouping Tool Kit? I’m in need of something BADLY for half of my 3rd grade class?
Where can I purchase/download the multiplication flip book you reference?
Where can i purchase/download the lipbook shown?
It’s free with the download.
This resource is one of the best things I’ve seen! I was wondering where you got the bags? They seem a perfect size for all the resources.
Thank you for the wonderful resource! Where did you find the zip bags to put all the materials?
Thank you so much for all your amazing suggestions and freebies. As a new teacher, I’m limited with what fund I have to improve my classroom but the few things I have taken from your blog I know will help me out a bunch! Keep up the great ideas and thank you so much for sharing them with the world!!! =)
You say that you give your students a timed weekly quiz. I did that this year for both multiplication and division, but I am looking for a new strategy. This is my first year teaching.
How do you grade those quizzes? I see everywhere that teachers wait until the student masters that one math fact and can pass with a 100%, but do you record/count the grade for all of the previous tries BEFORE the student masters that math fact?
Also how do you keep the higher students engaged after they have zipped through all of the math facts week after week and are just waiting for the lower students to catch up?
This is an amazing resource and I have a few kiddos that could really benefit from it this summer. Next year I plan to make a kit for my entire class. Thanks so much for sharing your hard work with others.
I just happened to stumble upon your resources on Pinterest. I downloaded the free multiplication and division facts. I just want to let you know how elated I am to have found you and all of your resources on TPT. I feel like I hit a gold mine for my 5th graders. Thank you for all of your hard work I really appreciate you!
This is awesome! Do you have an addition/subtraction take home kit?
Jennifer, I LOVE THIS KIT! I’m ready to start putting them together, but I was wondering if you had some sort of parent letter that can be sent home with it (or through email) to the parents. I want them to know that they students have it and how they can support their students with it. I don’t want to wait until Parent Teacher conferences next month to explain it either.
Thanks so much for the freebie!
Andrea
Where did you find the zipper pouches?
Thank you, this is awesome. I now have an idea on how to help my grandson who is having difficulty mastering basic facts multiplicarion and division Thanks for sharing.