Originally Posted by bj
When I taught 4th grade, I showed mine the lattice method. Every year there would be some kiddos who'd struggled with traditional that lattice would click for. Once I showed them how and practiced a couple of days, I gave them the choice. Most chose traditional, but for those that can't make sense of it right then, lattice was a godsend. I've even had parents want to come up for a lesson because they had such a hard time with multiplication. Why not show them how? I think it's kindof fun. Mine liked it because you could do such big numbers and not get lost in bringing down zeros. In elementary school sometimes it's more about teaching them to look at things a different way and think outside the box. Being willing to try to be a problem solver serves them well when they get into math classes that are not all about "cut and dried" methods.
I super agree, I introduce lattice, traditional, partial products, etc. in 3rd grade. Everybody needs to know how to do each one and then could choose their own to perfect. I had parents ask why, say its dumb, etc. and would ask them if they were in a store and were buying multiple items of the same cost would they be using traditional style multiplication in their head--many do partial products. Its all about being accurate with whatever method you choose. OK I'm off my box.