The Old New Way to Multiply

Several years back when my oldest was learning to do multi-digit multiplication we came to a roadblock.  Learning to get all the steps right was a near impossibility for him.  We struggled and struggled. I was about to give up.  So I did an internet search and found something called "Lattice Multiplication".
Lattice Multiplication dates back to the 1200's in Europe. The set up of the problem looks completely different, and yet it works every time!  Why we didn't continue to use this method baffles me. In recent years I have heard that more and more schools are showing this method to their students probably because it just makes life easier for both teacher and student.  For both my boys it has made long multiplication problems a breeze!

Here are instructions on how it works.  Try it!  It is cool to see the problem totally set up differently and yet providing the right answer!