Sunday, August 15, 2010

Waldorf Multiplication Star

A year or more ago, I read a post by a man whose daughter is going to a Waldorf school. He showed photos of the multiplication star the kids draw to help them learn their multiplication facts. It was a great post, and now I can't find it. Can anyone help me?


  1. Not sure if I have seen anything specific like a star but I have seen something similar. I have seen a star created connecting numbers around the outside around a circle. Here is my guess:

    For example, to show the multiples of 4 you'd draw a circle and the digits, 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 evenly spaced around the circle. (You use these numbers because when you list the multiples of 4 the ones digit will always be one of these numbers) Then beginning with 4x1 the unit place value is 4 so start there, then 4x2 is 8 so connect the 4 to the 8. Then 4x3 is 12 so draw a line from the 8 to the 2, then 4x4 is 16 so draw a line from the 2 to the 6 and continue. The lines look like string art and it will create a star.

    You can do this for other multiples as well. I let students do the 8 multiples-star and compare them to the 4 star. They can create a 2-multiples-star and compare as well. Leads to great learning. I also have students create a 3 multiples-star and then a 9 multiples-star and compare. Eventually they can predict which multiples will create the same star pattern.

    You can do this as well with other multiples and it is fun to experiment and see the patterns. Neat for kids to realize which numbers should go around the circle too.

    Contact me via Twitter @ccampbel14 if you have any questions.

    Good luck!


  3. What a lovely idea! It would be a great project for a math circle to make these to use in enrichment outreach with younger students.

  4. Sue,
    I just saw this on someone's blog file a few days ago, wish I remembered, but maybe this is the kind of thing you saw...

  5. Hi Sue,

    I think the post that you are referring to may have been by David Vancouvering. I came across it through an MT@P carnival, and posted about it also.

    -- Dan

  6. Thanks, Dan, you hit the jackpot!

    You're in my google reader, and I searched old posts through that. I wonder why I didn't find it.

    Thanks, everyone else for the cool links. I'll add this all to the sheet I've made for my college students. (They have to pass a multiplication mastery test in my algebra course.) I'll post that here soon.


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