Moulton-Branch masters multiplication

Published 9:30 am Friday, April 29, 2022

VALDOSTA – Thirty Moulton-Branch Elementary School third-graders earned the title of “Multiplication Masters” gaining confidence before end-of-year testing. 

Each year, the school challenges its third-grade students to learn their multiplication tables, which is a standard that is implemented during the first week of school, school officials said in a statement.

“On Friday, students take a multiplication fluency test,” said Gabi Parker, a teacher.

Students who earn a 90% or better on 30 facts in three minutes become a master of that specific fact. Multiplication Masters have aced all tests of multipliers ranging from two to 10 by the end of March, school officials said.

Students who achieve the title also earn a T-shirt, which is an additional motivator. School Principal Sol Summerlin and Assistant Principal Samantha Mercer handed out the much-anticipated shirts, which were immediately worn by the students, school officials said.

“We are so proud of the efforts of the third-grade students,” Summerlin said. “It is always refreshing for students to see the fruits of their labors.”

Parker agreed that the shirts, which are inspired by and voted on by the students themselves, are great a visible reminder of their achievement. This year, the group voted on a Minecraft theme for the design.

The rewarding competition has become a successful tradition to encourage students to become proficient in multiplication. The teachers expressed the importance of the automaticity of multiplication facts at this grade level.

“As content gets harder, students encounter multiple-step word problems and can easily forget subsequent steps if they are deep in the weeds solving a difficult multiplication fact,” Parker said. “When you are able to put less brainpower toward finding the product of a multiplication fact, you are able to put more brainpower into understanding the word problem.”