The Flick Stick Approach to 'Tables'

‘making maths hands-on, visual & fun'
 

Dr. Des Rainey
PhD (Western Reserve, Cleveland, Ohio),
MA (Victoria, Wellington)

Doc. Rainey Ltd.

15A Coronation Rd

Glenfield, Auckland

New Zealand.

Tel:+64 9 4198356

USA fax (208)4415510

office@earlymath.com

 
The Flick Stick tables (multiplication basic facts) Kit, $129 .95
While 'tables' Flick Stick uses are not so strong and varied as with Early Numeracy they nevertheless provide a very effective way of introducing students to tables and to learning the basic facts within those tables. As well as 2 Flick Sticks and a general Guide the kit provides ‘Build Tables’ (activity blacklines), ‘Swingo Bingo’ (games for every table, for use at home and school), and ‘First Tables’ (worksheet blacklines for home and school). There is also a PowerPoint demo and a short DVD: ‘The Flick Stick Approach to Tables’.

Additional Flick Sticks at as little as $5.50. Details

New Zealand schools: order by phone or download an order form.
Overseas schools: simply email office@earlymath.com to request further information and/or delivery quotation & secure payment options.
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THE 'FLICK STICK'
what it is
and does

• The Flikstik is hi tech at the simplest level. It provides several simple but powerful models that help in the early stages of learning maths.

• It is the decimal system  in your hand!

• It’s fun and children love it! They especially like the dice-like random way they can strike number patterns.

• It helps children to mastery of counting skills, then basic addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, place value, calculation, stats, study of bases, binary numeration... and 'you name it'!

•  It is a hands-on exploration tool and toy that 'always lets children see and feel the mathematics thing that they are doing'.

•  Incredibly versatile, it makes a fantastic numberline; can generate random number patterns; and can 'be' or represent a multiplication table! Then there are great probability and algebra uses....

•  It facilitates new ‘number-family’ methods where students learn basic facts in a 'part-whole' way that teachers find very effective.

•  Supports & enhances all curricula including American, British, Singapore & Australasian.

    A bit about the flick stick approach to tables

     1. CHILDREN FIRST BUILD A TABLE.

The Flikstik is of course already a Table of Ones (think about it). For the table of twos the balls need to be worth TWO instead of one. But how? What ideas can children come up with? There is no single answer but there are many good answers. For example:           
                                    ‘Hang 2 gold bars above the balls. Write ‘2’ to show how many.’
                                    ‘Stick plasticine on the balls ‘til they weigh ‘2’.’
                                    ‘I put sparkles on my balls and I’m selling them for $2.’
                                    ‘I’m writing ‘$2’ on each ball. That’s their price. How many do you want?’

Having discussed these and other ideas children end up on an activity page by putting ‘2’ on each ball. They may now put in addition signs and figure out and say and write things like ‘1 two is 2, 2 twos are 4…’ More enjoyably they can count forwards and backwards by 2s, holding their Flikstik in one hand and gently tapping each ball as they go. It is a joyous way to start learning a table!

On activity pages provided, children can build up their ‘table of twos’ in several forms e.g. 1 two = 2 and so on.

2. STUDENTS THEN PLAY 'THE GAME' FOR THE TABLE THEY HAVE BUILT

Using a Flick Stick as a dice of 10, they play the 'Swingo Bingo'  game for their table. For the Table of Fours it would be 'Fours Galore'!

3. FINALLY CHILDREN 'WORK' ON THE TABLE

Pencil and paper activities on sheets from photocopy masters let children work on accuracy and speed in short concentrated spell.

They keep a record of all activities on a Progress Chart, itself motivating.

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