It is important for children to learn and recall as many times table facts (multiplication facts) up to 10 x 10 as possible. There are many ways of learning tables and your child may respond to different strategies such as singing, reciting, writing, playing games and making up rhymes amongst others. The most important thing is to make it fun and do a little practice as often as possible. Don’t worry if your child appears to be struggling to learn their times tables, as there are many strategies you can use to help them. Above all, this should be a supportive and fun activity. If your child has difficulty memorising the facts then the order in which they learn them can be important. Start with the 2, 5 and 10 tables; children can then use their fingers to help with learning the 9x table (shown later).Children can use doubling strategies to learn the 4x and 8x table once the 2x is secure. The learning really starts with the 3x table. Children will need help to memorise these. There are many times table games available on line which will help children to recall times tables and division facts. You can also purchase times tables CDs for children to sing along to from a number of shops and supermarkets. Parents often remember chanting their times tables at school, and this can be useful, although learning the multiplication facts strategically (in order and looking for patterns) helps children to make connections, and means they don’t have to rely on their memory alone! However, there is more to learning your tables than just chanting them! Unfortunately 7 x 8 = 58 rolls off the tongue as easily as the correct answer - 7 x 8 = 56.
St Michaels CofE Junior School