Rapid and accurate recall of all the times tables up to 12 is an essential skill to have perfected, by the time children enter Year 5. This is why Year 4 students now take a statutory times tables check before entering Year 5. The Year 5 curriculum is jam-packed with calculation work, fractions, measures and geometry, all of which rely heavily on times tables. A child that doesn’t know the tables off by heart, and with rapid recall, will struggle with the extra mental load of having to work them out alongside the complexities of the problem they are trying to solve.
Getting times tables sorted and secure before the end of Year 4 is vital, but often, due to a very crowded curriculum, times tables aren’t practised daily in school, so it’s well worth helping with at home.
There are many ways you can help your child learn them.
1) Focus on one set of facts for a week at a time, or longer if needed, until you are certain that your child knows them off by heart, accurately and with rapid (on the spot) answers. If a whole times table is too much, focus on just the first 5 facts. Stick with that one until they have it 100% secure, before moving onto a new one. Remember that it’s not just the multiplication fact they need to remember; they also need to be able to turn it around into a division fact. For many children, this isn’t as easy as it sounds, and needs just as much practice as the multiplication facts.
2) Don’t learn them in order (2, then 3, then 4 etc); instead follow the sequence that is detailed in the National Curriculum. The 10 times table is so intrinsically linked to normal counting, that it makes sense to learn this first, along with the 2 times table, which children encounter very early on in KS1, when they learn about odd and even numbers. The 5 times table usually comes next, because it’s linked to the 10 times table, and has a simple pattern. The 3 times table is usually learnt soon after, and the 4 times table, followed by the 6s (with its link to the 3s) and the 8s (with its link to the 4s). Later during Year 4, schools will move into the 7s, 9s, 11s and 12s. However, if a child isn’t secure in the earlier times tables in this sequence, they won’t be able to learn the later ones (except possibly the 11s and 9s, which have some memorable patterns).
3) Counting up in multiples is an important step along the way. Practise this using rhymes and songs; there are lots on You Tube (such as this one) – just search up 4 times table song, for example. And by teaching your child to repeat them as they climb the stairs, or as they step while walking… “Three, six, nine, twelve! Three, six, nine, twelve!” Repeating just four or five multiples at a time in this way, will be more manageable and easier for them to memorise. Then gradually build more into them, until you have the whole lot of twelve multiples. Challenge your child to alternate them with you, or continue them when you stop partway through the list. Show them the strategy of raising a finger as they say each multiple, so their brain begins to automatically make the connection between the number of fingers and the multiple. The more familiar they become with this multiples list, the easier they will be able to progress into being able to answer questions quickfire, although they may initially need to work their way up through the multiples to find the answer. This is ok – it’s a stepping stone, and eventually (as long as the practice and repetition is consistent and sustained) will become internalized enough that they will recall the answers without needing to work up through the multiples. This is the step that needs the daily repetition, that is so often missing, so keep at it until that times table is secure.
4) Use apps and games. Learning on tablets, phones or computers is usually more motivation than sitting down and doing written worksheets, or trying to memorize a list of numbers. There are so many websites and apps that focus on times tables. One that schools often provide login details for is TT Rockstars; if your child school uses it, make sure you have the details, and use it at home – often. A website that I usually recommend is timestables.co.uk, which has lots of different games and activities, either focusing on one particular table, or a mixture. When you find a good one, bookmark it. Add a shortcut to your child’s home screen if they have their own tablet or computer, or to your own phone if not. Set them on it for 10 minutes each day, at a regular time, so it becomes routine.
5) Help them explore patterns in the multiples. It’s easy to spot the patterns in the 10s (all end in 0 and the tens digits count up in 1s); the 2s (all end in even numbers, repeating 2,4,6,8,0); and the 5s (all end in 5,0,5,0 etc, and the tens digits repeat 1,1,2,2,3,3 etc). The 11s have a predictable “double digits” pattern, and the 9s have a couple of different patterns: tens column goes up in 1s (as far as 9), ones column goes down in 1s, and digit sum is always 9. Some of the other times tables have patterns that are harder to spot. There are some fun videos on YouTube showing some good ways of spotting patterns, such as this video, and this video (there are several others on the same channel, too).
6) Play dice and card games, and incorporate tables practice into normal board games and family games. If you are playing a dice game like snakes and ladders, make a rule that with each roll of the dice, they must first tell you the answer to the dice value times the current times table, before moving their piece. Or for games with two dice, multiply the two numbers and say the answer before you can move your piece. Play the Race to 100 game, in which you take turns to roll two dice, multiply the values and add to your running total. The player that makes the total reach 100 is the winner.
With a pack of cards, play tables snap: if your child is learning the 3 times table, place a 3 on the table and take turns to lay a card next to it to multiply it by. The first to call out the correct answer wins the card. Of course, you can make sure that you are a bit slower than them, to give them a fair chance, if you already know the tables well. If you are practising all the times tables, just both lay a card on the table at the same time and race to call out the product made when the two numbers are multiplied. You can also play the Race to 100 game with playing cards too. Playing cards can cover facts up to 12×12 (even 13×13 if you leave the kings in!) whereas dice can be used for facts up to 6×6. For family games that don’t involve dice or cards, make a rule that everyone must answer a tables question or recite the multiples in order before they can take their turn.
7) Remember that the times tables are commutative. Regularly remind your child that times table facts can be switched around and still give the same answer. If they understand and remember this, they will find that as they learn the later times tables, they already know a lot of the answers. For example, before they even begin to learn the 7s, they already know the answers to 1×7, 2×7, 3×7, 4×7, 5×7, 6×7, 8×7 and 10×7, because they’ve learnt those facts already, but the other way round. This property of multiplication is called commutativity, but it’s not essential that they know this word – they just need to know they can switch the fact around. It also means that technically they only really have to learn about half of the facts, as long as they can quickly switch them in their heads when asked!
8) Use the spare, empty minutes of the day, to practise. Make a routine of reciting them, or quizzing them during the drive or walk to school, when they are brushing their teeth or waiting for dinner. The students that I know who have learnt all their times tables and addition facts by heart, are the ones whose parents have made a routine like this, practising day in and day out until it has stuck. It may seem like a chore, but it really is one of the most valuable pieces of learning they’ll do in their junior years.
9) Use the facts they DO know. Remind them that if they get stuck on a tables fact, they can use other ones that they do know, to help them. For example, if they don’t know 9×4, they can use 10×4 and take away one lot of 4. If they don’t know 8×7, they can double 4×7. The 12x fact can be found quite quickly by adding together the 10x answer and the 2x answer, both facts they will hopefully have learnt early on. These strategies aren’t as quick or useful as knowing them off by heart with rapid recall, but they can be really helpful if they get stuck.
10) Flashcards can be very useful for building up speed. You can make your own, just by cutting up card (even paper, at a push), and using a marker or felt-tip pen to write the question on one side, and the answer on the other side (use a light pencil if your paper or card is not very thick). Quiz your child by holding up one at a time, so that they can see the question and you can see the answer. They read out the question and then tell you the answer. Challenge them to get faster and faster, doing it without working their way up through the multiples – they sometimes surprise themselves by getting them right even if they thought they hadn’t memorised it. When they get one wrong, tell them the correct answer and have them read the question and the correct answer out loud two or three times to help them remember it, then move on. Repeat, repeat, repeat. You can also switch the quiz around, by showing them the answer side, and they must tell you the question.
11) You can also make pairs games using home-made cards. Cut 24 cards. On 12 of them, write the 12 questions for a particular times table (or a mixture if you are revising several tables at once). On the other 12 cards, write the 12 answers. It is even better if your child can do the writing on the cards – every little bit of reinforcement helps. Make sure that the writing doesn’t show through into the backs of the cards; use a pencil if you only have paper available. Place all the cards face down: questions on the left, answers on the right, and take turns to turn over one of each to find a pair.
12) Use physical movement. Learning and reciting the tables facts can become repetitive and tiresome if it’s done in the same way each time, so mix it up with some physical activity. Get your child to repeat the multiples in rhythm with their swinging on the swing-set, or as they jump on the trampoline, or as they push up on the seesaw. Have them say them as they hopscotch, or as they jump the skipping rope, or as they star jump. If you’re sitting, waiting for a bus or for an appointment, start a clapping rhythm – I like the stomp-stomp-clap (We Will Rock You) rhythm, clapping on your thighs for the stomp beats – and repeat the multiples on each clap. Sometimes, sticking with one particular physical activity (e.g. trampoline bounces, for one particular times table, will help to create a “memory hook”.
13) Play verbal (speaking) games. Here are three examples:
- A really well-known one is Fizz Buzz. Take turns to count upwards from 1, saying one number each. If you are practising the 4 times table, each time a multiple of 4 should be announced, you must replace it with the word Fizz. So the counting (taken in turns) would go: one, two, three, fizz, five, six, seven, fizz, nine… etc. If you get it wrong, or forget the fizz, you lose. As confidence builds, you can introduce a second multiplication table, with multiples to be replaced by Buzz. Any number that is a common multiple of both must be replaced with by both words: “Fizz-Buzz”. So for 3 and 4 times tables, it would sound like this: one, two, fizz, buzz, five, fizz, seven, buzz, fizz, ten, eleven, fizz-buzz, thirteen… etc.
- There is another game, that I liked to call Table Topper, which is based on the popular counting game, 21. Take it in turns to count up through the multiples of a particular times table. Each player can choose whether to say just one multiple, or two multiples, or three multiples, for their turn. The person who is able to say the 12th multiple (ie the top of the table) is the winner. For example, for the 3 times table, the game might sound like this:
Player A: “3, 6, 9”
Player B: “12, 15”
Player A: “18, 21”
Player B: “24, 27, 30”
Player A: “33, 36” (winner!) - Another example is a variation of the shopping list (memory) game. In the normal game you take turns to add an item to an ever-growing shopping list, repeating the whole lot on each turn… I went to the shop and bought an apple… I went to the shop and bought an apple and a banana… I went to the shop and bought an apple, a banana and a cat…
In this version, you must add in the appropriate multiple: I went to the shop and bought 6 apples… I went to the shop and bought 6 apples and 12 bananas… I went to the shop and bought 6 apples, 12 bananas and 18 cats…
14) Make sure your child writes out the times tables regularly. Invest in a mini-whiteboard or wipeable memo board (find them in the supermarket stationary aisle). Get into a routine of writing it down before breakfast, or before dinner, or before they brush their teeth (or anything that they do every day). Write them in order, write them in reverse order, write them in random order. To vary it a bit, perhaps challenge them to make a deliberate mistake for you to spot, or challenge them to write the division facts instead.
15) Keep an eye out for real-life opportunities to use the tables facts. Shopping is a good opportunity: six eggs in a box, how many eggs on this shelf? This pack of crumpets has 4, we need 12 – how many packs is that? We use one dishwasher tablet a day – how many weeks will this big box last?
Coins are good for 2, and 5 and 10 times tables: this costs 30p, how many 5ps do I need?
Point out real-life arrays, for example in windows (how many small panes are there in that grid?), on chocolate bars, board games, muffin trays, boxes of chocolates, Lego blocks, tv remotes, cube shelf units, car park spaces, paving slabs… The list could go on. Grab these opportunities to ask “How many are there? Use times tables so you don’t have to count!”
16) Use post-it notes, with a tricky tables question written on one side, and the answer written under the flap, on the other side, for self-checking. Stick them on the mirror, or the back of the door, or the fridge, or the back of the chair, so your child can test themselves by thinking of the answer and checking if they’re right.
Hopefully this has inspired you with some ideas. Practising at home is the vital key to your child learning the things tables. It really does need that little-and-often, regular repetition every day, in order to stick in the memory. Hopefully you’re now armed with a whole collection of ways to ensure this sometimes long and difficult task does not become tedious.
If you are considering using a tutor to help your child prepare for the Kent Test, please see details of my Tutoring Service, and contact me to enquire about availability. You are also welcome to send me a message through my Facebook page.
