Songs, rhymes, raps and stories are all useful tools for helping children memorise multiplication facts. Lastly, if a child knows that 16 ÷ 2 = 8, they also know that 16 ÷ 8 = 2.So if a child knows that 2 × 8 = 16, they also know that 16 ÷ 2 = 8. For every multiplication fact there are related division facts.So if a child knows that 2 × 8 = 16, they also know that 8 × 2 = 16. When writing a multiplication, the numbers being multiplied can be written in any order.Thanks to commutativity, you can tell pupils that when they learn a multiplication fact, they also learn the following three additional facts: The rule of commutativity is useful for children learning times tables because it shows that they know more than they might think. In the 9 times table they will also see a pattern in the tens and ones, with the tens increasing and the ones decreasing as you go up the times table. When they come to the 3, 6 and 9 times tables, children will see that the digits of each answer add together to make 3, 6 or 9, or a multiple of those numbers. Likewise, the answers for the 8 times table are the answers to the 4 times table doubled: for example, 5 × 8 = 5 × 4 × 2. Show pupils that the answers for the 4 times table are the answers to the 2 times table doubled: for example, 3 × 4 = 3 × 2 × 2. Once they have mastered the 2, 5 and 10 times tables, children should find it easier to move on to 4 and 8.
In the 10 times table all the numbers end in 0 and in the 5 times table all the numbers end in 5 or 0. In fact, any number multiplied by an even number will be even. In the 2 and 10 times tables the numbers are all even. However, it is generally agreed that it is preferable to start with 2, 5 and 10, as the patterns within them are easy for young children to grasp. There is some debate surrounding the best order in which to teach the times tables. Below are six different approaches that you can use to help children master their times tables with ease. Though chanting the times tables individually or as a whole class is a good place to start, there are many additional strategies that will make learning the times tables easier for pupils. It is essential therefore to make times tables practice part of your everyday teaching, even after the basic order has been learnt. Put simply, if children are fluent in the basic multiplication and division facts, then their working memory is freed up from having to make simple calculations, and can think more deeply about the conceptual underpinnings of a problem.Īs with most things that are worth learning, repetition is the key.
Without them, children lack the basic tools to decode even simple calculations, never mind complex real-world problems. In fact, you could say that times tables are to maths what phonics is to English.
Instant recall of times tables is essential to success in all areas of maths. Whether you got them straight away or still find yourself reaching for the calculator, here are six practical suggestions for ways that you can help children grasp multiplication and division facts in no time at all. Everyone remembers learning their times tables.