Dear Number Mavens,

This year we’ve learned lots of ways to multiply whole numbers–partial-products, double and halve, over and under, lattice, or ratio tables. And there are many other methods that we haven’t talked about–Egyptian, Russian Peasant, Japanese. There’s really only one way to multiply, but these methods show us different ways to count up the pieces.

While I really want you to quickly and accurately find the correct answer, life (and math) is about more than right answers. It’s about understanding. We learn a variety of ways to multiply because we’re learning how multiplication (and numbers themselves) work. 

Memorizing a process for multiplication won’t help you understand higher math or how to apply math to the real world. Knowing how multiplication works will.

Sincerely,

Mr. Heimbuck