These can be used to show the commonalities between tables, how they share answers, that 2, 4, and 8, for example, or 3, 6, and 9 all follow similar patterns. The use of number squares also helps, having a grid of numbers in rows of 10, usually up to 100 (although 144 is where times tables end) upon which learners can look for the patterns made by the answers in each times table. BBC Bitesize has a set although there are plenty of examples on Youtube. That is not to say that having the class say times tables aloud in unison no longer happens, rather that this will be set to music, as a rap, perhaps. Whilst the notion of learning styles has largely been dismissed, multi-sensory learning still has a place in the classroom, so approaches using practical activities, alongside visual and aural ones, will give pupils a greater opportunity for understanding. So nowadays teachers use a variety of teaching methods, intended to provide numerical understanding as well as parroted recall.Īll of us learn in different ways.

This can lead to children being able to respond instantly when asked a calculation – such as 6 times 7 – without necessarily understanding what that means, or why that is the answer. Traditionally times tables are taught by rote, that is, everyone chants them altogether. However, there are plenty of ways we can help them to learn them, even having some fun along the way. For many of them this will be a challenge.

By the age of ten, English school children are expected to have instant recall of all the times tables up to twelve.

6 times table up to 100