Finger Math Multiplication
I was surprised when I came across with an article on Polish hand magic, a strategy for multiplication using fingers. I remember us doing it when we were in the first grade, but in a slightly different way. Here in our country, we call it Finger Math or Finger Multiplication.
Finger multiplication is a strategy for multiplying numbers from 6 to 10. It is used by pupils in the early grades who have not memorized the multiplication table yet. The idea is to assign the numbers from 6 to 10 to each finger on both hands (see Figure 1): 6 to the pinkie, 7 to the ring finger, 8 to the middle finger, 9 to the index finger, and 10 to the thumb.
Figure 1
To multiply, do the following (see Figure 2):
(1) Connect the fingers assigned to the numbers that you want to multiply. For example, in multiplying 8 and 7, connect the middle finger and the ring finger (see Figure 2). » Read more