I find it useful to teach mulltiplication and division facts, especially for visual learners and those who need kinesthetic reinforcement. They can see and hear the facts as they run their fingers over the X·Y Chart™. This multi-sensory approach helps them learn more effectively. The chart also provides an easy way to see patterns in multiplication and division, and students can "see" the square numbers, giving concrete meaning to the term- important for students who are not yet thinking abstractly. I also love the way I can introduce the concepts of ordered pair coordinates. Activities like Descartes and the fly are engaging and fun for the students and they provide important language arts and social studies links, helping to integrate curriculum ideas. I like to show how math sentences can be graphed. This is an important introduction to algebra.

Barbara Marin
4th Grade Teacher, NCTM Member

For the past two years, Joe Speier has visited my classroom to introduce my fourth grade students to the XY Chart. Although reading from bottom to top is initially new to them, they take to it very quickly. The story of Descartes and the fly draws them in, and the logic and fun of the the chart itself is immediately engaging. The connection to multiplication rectangles and area becomes clear to them very quickly; the connection to coordinate graphing is just as clear to me. The chart helps them learn what they need to know now and lays a firm foundation for what they will need to learn later. I am excited about finding more ways to connect the chart to our math program.

M. E. Hager
4th Grade Teacher