Learning times tables - it can sometimes feel like a tiresome task, with so many facts to learn by heart!

 

It doesn't have to be as tedious though as just repetitively chanting. Over the years, I have developed fun, effective strategies to help children learn their tables and build their fluency to a degree which removes the barrier that poor tables knowledge places for them in much of their maths learning.  (See below for links to these strategies.)

​

A poster on a wall showing all the facts from 1 x 1 up to 12 x 12 is great, but on its own, how effective is it in actually helping children learn the facts? 

Similarly, a multiplication grid is useful (especially in wider multiplication or division calculations) for children who do not have instant recall, but how effective is it in actually helping children learn those facts?

 

Tables tests or quizzes (whether in class or online) often only show children what they don't know.  Again, how effective are they in actually helping children learn the facts?

​

How do we effectively help children learn the facts?  

​

Children need to initially learn the sequences "3, 6, 9, 12..." etc.  For this I have rhymes involving 'Teetoe', a little monkey character, along with useful tips regarding patterns. 

From there, recall of individual facts can start to be built.  For this I have a variety of strategies and ideas for games. 

​

               

              for free resources to help with some of this.  (See folder titled "Time Tables")

​