For many families, times tables (multiplication tables) mean a chart on the wall, a tired child and a parent trying to stay patient. It can be much lighter than that.
Knowing the tables frees a child’s mind for the harder part of a problem. And learning them needs no special book. It needs five minutes a day, a good order and some play.
There is less to learn than it looks
The grid up to 12 × 12 has 144 facts. That looks like a lot. It isn’t.
- 3 × 7 and 7 × 3 are the same fact. Count each pair once, and 78 are left.
- Most children find the 1, 2, 5 and 10 times tables easy. Take those out, and 36 are left.
Show your child this on a 12 × 12 grid, drawn or printed. Colour each fact they know. The white squares are the whole job. Colour a new one each time a fact feels sure.
The best order to learn times tables
Start where success comes quickly. Then build each new table on one your child already knows.
- 10, 5 and 2. They have clear patterns, and children usually meet them first.
- 4 and 8. The 4s are the 2s doubled. The 8s are the 4s doubled.
- 3 and 6. The 6s are the 3s doubled.
- 9 and 11. Both have patterns. For 9 × 4, take 10 × 4 and subtract 4.
- 7 and 12. By now only three facts are new: 7 × 7, 7 × 12 and 12 × 12.
One table at a time is enough. Start the next one when your child answers most of it without counting.
Five minutes a day, not an hour on Sunday
A large review of study methods rated two of them highest: testing yourself, and spreading practice over time (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013). Reading the same thing again and again came low on the list.
For times tables, that means two things.
- Ask, don’t show. “What is 6 × 7?” does more than reading “6 × 7 = 42” ten times. Trying to remember is the practice.
- Little and often. Five minutes every day does more than one long session a week. Bring back an old table every few days.
Stop while it is still going well. A child who ends on a right answer is more likely to want to play again tomorrow.
Times tables games for home
- Number cards. Write the numbers 1 to 12 on small cards, two of each. Lay them face down. Take turns to turn over two and multiply them. Explain your answer, and you keep the pair.
- In the car. Ask three questions each trip, and let your child ask you three. Now and then give a wrong answer as a joke, and let them catch it.
- One more than yesterday. Ask ten questions on one table. Count the right answers, not the seconds. Tomorrow, try for one more. At ten, move to the next table.
- Number Duel. Quick questions for two. Choose “× Times” for the tables. The explanation scores the point, not the speed.
When a fact won’t stay
Every child has a few. For many they are in the 6s, 7s and 8s, such as 7 × 8.
Give each one a way in. For 7 × 8, double 7 three times: 14, 28, 56. For 6 × 7, start from 6 × 6 = 36 and add one more 6. Write the two or three hardest facts on a card by the door. Ask one each time your child goes out.
Don’t ask for speed at first. A child gets fast by being sure, and sure by giving many calm, right answers.
Check what to practise next
Schools in England check children aged 8 to 9 with 25 questions up to 12 × 12, and 6 seconds for each one. Our Times tables check works the same way, with our own questions.
It is for children aged 8 to 11 and takes 4 minutes. Your child gets three practice questions first, then the 25. At the end you see a score out of 25 and the tables to practise next. Nerves and tiredness matter, so one result is only a guide. Try again another day.
Try it this week
- Draw or print a 12 × 12 grid, and colour what your child already knows.
- Pick one table from the order above.
- Practise five minutes a day: ask, don’t show.
- Play one game with it, in the car or with number cards.
- When one table feels sure, take the Times tables check together to see what to practise next.
The check is free with a free account: an email address, no card. Number Duel needs no account. The check is a guide to what to practise next, not a school test.
