Times tables

What times tables are

A times table is the list of answers you get by multiplying one number by 1, 2, 3 and so on, usually up to 12. The 4 times table goes 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 and on to 48. In the US these are often called multiplication facts, and in the UK times tables, but they are the same thing: the 144 facts from 1 × 1 to 12 × 12 that children learn to recall without working them out.

Knowing them by heart matters because almost every later topic in math leans on them. Division, fractions, area, percentages, ratios and long multiplication all become slow and error-prone if a child has to count on their fingers for 7 × 8. Recall frees up working memory for the harder thinking.

Understanding before memorising

Times tables are easier to learn, and harder to forget, when children first understand what multiplication means. Three ideas help:

• Groups of things. 3 × 4 means three groups of four. Lay out three plates with four grapes on each and count them.
• Arrays. Arrange objects in rows and columns: 3 rows of 4 makes a rectangle of 12. Turn it sideways and it is 4 rows of 3, which shows why 3 × 4 and 4 × 3 give the same answer.
• Skip counting. Counting in threes (3, 6, 9, 12) is the 3 times table said out loud. Many children already skip count in twos, fives and tens before they meet multiplication.

Once a child sees that a times table is just repeated adding, the facts stop being random numbers to memorise.

The order schools teach them

Most schools in the US and UK teach the tables in a similar order, from the easiest patterns to the hardest:

1. 10, 2 and 5. The 10s end in zero, the 2s are doubling, and the 5s end in 5 or 0.
2. 3 and 4. The 4s are double the 2s.
3. 8. Double the 4s.
4. 6 and 9. The 6s are double the 3s, and the 9s have the finger trick and a neat digit pattern.
5. 7, 11 and 12. The 11s are simple up to 9 × 11; the 12s are 10 times plus 2 times.

Each table has its own page here, from the 1 times table to the 20 times table, with a trick for that table, patterns to spot and three printable sheets.

Fewer facts than you think

There are 144 facts in a 12 × 12 chart, but children do not need to learn 144 separate things. Because 3 × 7 is the same as 7 × 3, more than half the chart repeats. The 1s and 10s are almost automatic, and the 2s and 5s follow from counting. Once a child knows the 2, 5 and 10 tables, the number of genuinely new facts drops sharply. By the time they reach the 7s, only a handful remain: 7 × 7, 7 × 8 and 7 × 12, plus a few they may have missed.

Showing children this on the times table chart is encouraging. The mountain looks much smaller once the known facts are crossed off.

When children should know them

In the United States, Common Core expects children to know all multiplication facts for one-digit numbers from memory by the end of third grade, with the 11 and 12 tables usually covered in fourth grade. In England, children should know all tables up to 12 × 12 by the end of Year 4, when they sit the Multiplication Tables Check: 25 questions, six seconds each, on screen.

These targets are a guide. Children who need longer are not behind for good; steady practice gets almost everyone there.

A practice routine that works

Research on learning facts is fairly clear on a few points: short sessions beat long ones, mixing facts up beats always going in order, and recalling an answer beats re-reading it. A routine built on that might look like:

1. Learn a table in order first. Read it aloud with the printed card, then cover the answers and say them.
2. Fill in a sheet. The fill-in worksheets ask for the table in order, then mixed up.
3. Mix it up. Shuffle flashcards for the table being learned plus a few older ones, and sort them into “know it” and “not yet”.
4. Quick daily check. The ten-question practice quiz takes two or three minutes.
5. Spaced review. Revisit older tables once or twice a week so they stay fresh.

Ten minutes a day, five days a week, will take most children through all the tables in a school year.

The tables beyond 12

Most school targets stop at 12 × 12, but some children enjoy going further, and the 13 to 20 tables are useful for mental math with larger numbers. They are easier than they look, because each one can be split into a ten and a units part. For 15 × 6, think 10 × 6 = 60 and 5 × 6 = 30, so 90. For 18 × 4, think 20 × 4 = 80, take away 2 × 4 = 8, so 72. Every table from 13 to 20 has its own page here with its own shortcut, which makes a good challenge for confident learners.

Helping a child who finds times tables hard

Some children find memorising facts harder than others, and that is not the same as being bad at math. A few strategies help:

• Use what they know. If they know 5 × 7 = 35, then 6 × 7 is just one more 7: 42. Building from anchor facts is faster than memorising each fact alone.
• Make it visual. Arrays drawn on squared paper, or Lego bricks in rows, show what a fact means.
• Say it, write it, hear it. Mixing speaking, writing and listening gives the memory more hooks.
• Keep the stakes low. Praise improvement, not speed. Anxiety blocks recall.

Making practice fun

Times tables do not have to mean worksheets every night.

• Car and queue games. “What’s 6 times 4?” while waiting in line counts as practice.
• Beat your score. Time a ten-question round and try to beat it tomorrow, competing only against yourself.
• Dice multiplication. Roll two dice and multiply. Use ten-sided dice for harder facts.
• Times tables snap. Play snap with flashcards, matching a fact card to its answer card.
• Songs and chants. Many children remember the 7s and 8s better when they are sung.

When it is not sticking

If a child has practised for weeks and still cannot recall a table, a few things are worth checking. Do they understand what multiplication is, or are they memorising sounds? Are they trying to learn too many facts at once? Are they anxious about speed? Timed tests make some children freeze, and slowing down often helps more than pushing.

Narrowing the focus works well. Pick just three or four facts that are always wrong, practise only those for a week, and add more once they stick.

Printables and tools in this section

• The multiplication chart and the blank chart to fill in.
• Printable times tables: one clear table per page from 1 to 12.
• The times table worksheet maker for mixed practice from any tables, with an answer key.
• Flashcards with answers on the back, and the online practice quiz.

A word on speed

Fast recall is the goal, but speed comes last. A child who works out 6 × 8 by thinking “6 × 4 is 24, double it, 48” understands more than one who has memorised the sound “forty-eight” without knowing why. Build understanding first, then accuracy, and only then speed. Timed practice is useful near the end, and only as a game against a child’s own best score, never against classmates.

Above all, keep it positive. Children who believe they are “bad at times tables” practise less and remember less. Celebrating each new table learned, with a tick on the chart or a sticker on the fridge, keeps them coming back for the next one.