About a month ago, I wrote about a student who needed to learn some of the multiplication facts. We picked ten facts she needed to learn and wrote them on flash cards. We practiced and drilled and she got better. She made 90% or nine out of the ten. Now that is a high score that would bring an A grade in any school.
But consistently the one fact that she could not remember was 7 x 6 = 42. Whenever that fact would come up, the look on her face clearly communicated to me not only that she didn’t know it, but that she knew this was the one that she didn’t know and was convinced she would never be able to remember.
So one day, I let her use some art supplies to make a poster that now hangs in my room. And sure enough, even with her back to the poster, she can remember that 6 x 7 is 42. The visual and tactile experience of creating this poster focused on what she needed to learn has brought her to 100% success.
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