Creative Ways of Teaching Times Tables - WHITEPAPER BY EDUCATIONCITY - Education City
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WHITEPAPER BY EDUCATIONCITY Creative Ways of Teaching Times Tables
This paper looks to explore the many ways times tables are taught and embedded within schools in order to share practical experiences, which can be applied in any classroom. Within it are many tried and tested formulae, but hopefully some new ideas too!
Table of Contents
ii Introduction
1 Counting and the Basics
2 Tips for Learning at Key Stage 1
3 Tips for Learning at Key Stage 2
4 Rote Learning
5 Testing and Assessing Development
6 Homework and Parental Involvement
7 Extra Support
8 EducationCity Tools
Introduction
We all know that times tables are one of
the basic mathematical skills children
need to progress further in mathematics.
It’s this assertion that underlies the new
times tables tests to be introduced in
England for all Year 6 students as of
2018, which has made times tables
teaching a hot topic recently.
It’s universally agreed that practice is key to
mastering times tables but how can schools
embed these basics whilst keeping the content
fresh and the students interested? Is learning by
rote the be-all and end-all or can other strategies
be more effective for certain types of learners?
Read on to find out what we saw from schools
around the UK.
3Counting and the Basics
Counting in single digits is one of the first steps towards learning how to multiply.
This is sometimes learnt at home through play, but is generally one of the early areas
of focus at Reception/Foundation level. Once mastered, students can look to short cut
the process by counting in chunks, which is essentially what multiplication is. Simple
counting in steps of 2, 5 and 10 should be conquered by Year 2 and this knowledge
built on in successive years as indicated below:
Year 2 2, 5 and 10 times tables
Year 3 3, 4 and 8 times tables
Year 4 6, 7, 9, 11 and 12 times tables
Years 5 and 6 Practice years
By the end of Year 4, most children should be able to recall any times table instantly,
as times tables learnt from Year 2 onwards have been practised continually and so
ingrained into the children’s long-term memory. This is usually achieved by giving the
children a good understanding of the mechanics of multiplication, then consolidating
this understanding and facilitating recall using learning by rote strategies. We look at
these strategies later in this paper.
4Tips for Learning
at Key Stage 1
At Key Stage 1, as ever, the focus should presented as a wall display in his
be on practical and visual techniques to classroom, and students would be
help the students grasp the basics of asked to pop cards into the burrows
multiplication. It's something that which, when multiplied, would make
doesn’t need to be restricted to the that number. That’s to say, cards 2
classroom environment either. and 3 would be inserted into burrow
6, as could 1 and 6.
• Looking at pairing shoes is often a
good starter for children to learn Tailoring board games to multiplication
about the 2 times table, and is great is also effective. By multiplying the dice
as shoes are something every values instead of adding them together,
classroom has in abundance! children get to practise their times tables,
with the added bonus being that the
• Getting into groups of 2s, 3s and 4s traditional game is speeded up significantly.
to play games in P.E, for example, is
a great way to develop the children’s Pelmanism, a memory training system
understanding, before moving on to devised by the Pelman Institute for the
number grids where the children can scientific development of mind, memory
see the patterns that exist for each and personality in London, can also be
times table. introduced. It sounds complicated but
one game, which adopts Pelmanism,
Games are great learning devices at this which we’re all familiar with, is laying
stage too. Patrick Mainprize, former cards face down and matching pairs
teacher and Education Lead at from memory.
EducationCity, used to promote the use
of a rabbit hill in his EYFS classrooms. The
hill, with numbered burrows, would be
5Tips for Learning
at Key Stage 2
Key learning points to impart in Key Stage 2 are as follows:
• Seeing a times table as repeated addition is useful. For example,
4 x 5 is the same as 5 + 5 + 5 + 5.
• Understanding that times tables are commutative, so that both
5 x 4 and 4 x 5 = 20, is vital to speedy recall as it reduces the
‘amount’ of learning to one third of its original. Simply by
understanding this, 169 key facts are reduced to 91.
• Multiplication should be recognised as the inverse of division.
The number sentence or calculation 20 ÷ 5 = 4 can be worked
out because 5 x 4 = 20.
• Different times tables have different patterns within them, which
make learning them much easier. See our table below for some
handy explanations:
Times Table Hints
2 x Table Answer is always double the given number
3 x Table Answer always adds up to 3, 6 or 9
4 x Table Answer is double, then double again
5 x Table Answer always ends in 0 or 5
9 x Table Answers always adds up to 9*
10 x Table Answer always is sequence number with 0 on the end
11 x Table Answer is always repeat digits**
*
Rule doesn't apply to 11 x 9 Rule doesn't apply to 11 x 11
**
60 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
3 0 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36
4 0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48
5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
6 0 6 12 18 24 30 36 42 48 54 60 66 72
7 0 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 70 77 84
8 0 8 16 24 32 40 48 56 64 72 80 88 96
9 0 9 18 27 36 45 53 63 72 81 90 99 108
10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120
11 0 11 22 33 44 55 66 77 88 99 110 121 132
12 0 12 24 36 48 60 72 84 96 108 120 132 144
White: Pink: Total:
90 unique calculations Duplicate calculations 169 calculations
Visual learning often Over and above this, one of the environment. Think about
plays a big part in teachers we spoke to, Simrat creating hallway and classroom
Mavi, Deputy Head Teacher of St displays or murals showcasing
the education of a Giles C of E Primary School, multiplication sequences and
SEN student which is advises children should try to patterns. This repeated exposure
where EducationCity “remember near facts. For will help to embed times tables
example, if you remember 8 x 5 into their long-term memory.
comes in... = 40, you can work out 8 x 6 =
48 more easily.” Pictorial arrays are visual
representations of multiplications,
Immersion is also very effective, which the viewer can ‘pull apart’
so it’s an idea to include times with their eyes, or put together
tables visually everywhere the individual items. Take the
possible in the children’s daily example below:
7Games, loop cards,
songs, weekly
homework of a
number family and
rapid recall. I try
to make it fun and
encouraging to
improve how fast
they can remember.
Representations like this are great for students as counters and multilink cubes work well in
who respond to more creative learning strategies. school. At home, items such as sweets or toys can
Lauren Casey is a SEN teacher at Barking Abbey be used. “We use blocks and coins to start with to
School. “Visual learning often plays a big part in show the concrete nature of the tables and their
the education of a SEN student which is where practical use,” Sarah Cook, teacher at Greyfriars
EducationCity comes in,” she said. “The times table Primary School said, highlighting that this method
songs, as well as the games, really support this of teaching works for her. “My lower ability children
style of learning.” You can access EducationCity’s will go over and over the physical work as many
wealth of mathematics and numeracy teaching times as they need to. They will do a lot of practical
resources through their website, work like putting Play-Doh spots on a ladybird,
www.EducationCity.com. eggs in nests, and so on”.
Lauren elaborates about teaching methods: “Even We asked our primary school teachers, "What are
though, initially, I thought rote learning would stick the main times table teaching strategies you use?"
best, and even bought a times table CD to play as
background music in my lesson whilst we worked “We use number families and recall activities such
on other maths problems, it didn’t. The process as triangle cards, matching games and Pelmanism.
within EducationCity’s PlayLive game was The children are regularly tested on both the
essentially the same in terms of the questions, technical and the application of times tables.”
the people you play are different and this was the – Sarah Cook
method that worked.” PlayLive is a competitive
mental maths challenge, which pits students from Deputy Head, Amy Bain said “Games, loop cards,
the same year group in a race to answer as many songs, weekly homework of a number family and
multiplication questions as they can in 60 seconds. rapid recall. I try to make it fun and encouraging to
You can access PlayLive by logging in to improve how fast they can remember.”
EducationCity, clicking on Maths, choosing your
academic year, then PlayLive from the content Tom Phillips recommended weekly times tables
types, then PlayLive Multiplication. lessons, that are not just confined to the classroom.
He’s had success with throwing and catching
The visual method of teaching can be developed activities where the children simultaneously chant
to include concrete manipulatives as well, meaning multiples as well as with balloons bearing multiples
that the visual aids are not just pictures on paper, on, where the children had to sort them by the
but physical representations of the problems times tables they appear in.
presented. The children can then get their hands
in, multiplying and dividing the items. Stimuli such
8Rote Learning
An educated Rote learning refers to the process of learning something via
person is someone
repetition and practice, which leads to memorisation. Camilla Turner,
Education Editor of The Telegraph, stated, “An educated person is
who has knowledge someone who has knowledge in his or her long-term memory.”
in his or her long-
term memory.
This type of learning leads to instant recall of knowledge by the
participant, which is best explained explained by children reciting
and chanting their times tables in order to remember or ‘learn’ them.
Eric Kandel won a Nobel Prize in the year 2000 for his work on the
subject of memory, in which he proved that repeated stimulus
enabled brain cells to grow and make new connections. It can still
be tailored to your needs as with anything.
An additional advantage of PlayLive Multiplication is that it gives the
child a summary of his/her performance at the end, so that they can
understand where they went wrong – bonus! Music and song have
long been a part of children’s culture and for years used as a learning
aid in the home and at school. Devise ways in which times tables can
be heard everywhere; play CDs in class or sing and recite in line to
assembly. Straightforward chants can get boring and monotonous,
so think about personalising the words and rhymes. Add actions, use
instruments, whatever works for your class.
9Rote learning is a method favoured by We asked primary school teachers,
many teachers and with good reason "What are your experiences of learning
as it produces successful results on the by rote for times tables?" And these were
majority of occasions. However, it is some of the responses:
argued children are simply reacting
with automaticity, which is voicing “Learning by rote has its place, but it must
an automatic response out of habit. be linked to mixing facts around and
using the key facts quickly.”
Children are remembering information - Vicky Redshaw, Brooke Hill Academy
rather than learning the information. Many
topics require a deeper understanding of “I always think there is a balance between
how they work and why it all makes rote times tables and active learning. It
sense, which may be the key to training goes back to different learning types but
the mind to solve more complex maths at some point, we just have to make them
problems. “Children are good at learning stick!”
by rote, but need practical activities and - Amy Bain, Deputy Head Teacher, St.
constant application to truly understand Peter’s R.C. Primary
what they are doing.” - Sarah Cook is a
Teacher and Computing Coordinator at It is important here to note, as ever, that
Greyfriars Primary School. When asked rote learning doesn’t work for every child.
what she found most difficult about Simrat Mavi, Deputy Head Teacher, St
teaching times tables, Sarah said, “Moving Giles C of E Primary School says, “Some
from rote learning to application. My students struggle with mental retention
children can learn the song or the chant over a period of time therefore need
easily in the majority of cases and can alternative strategies such as
recite them happily, but when asked multiplication squares”.
‘What’s 2 x 7?’ will look at me with
confused faces!”
Great Activity Ideas
• On a 1-to-1 basis, read the times tables • Turn your students into teachers and have
out loud together. When the child is them work together to remember their
comfortable proceeding alone, ask them times tables. It’s important to note, we
to tap the table. If they are unsure or get remember 90% of what we teach others, so
an answer incorrect, join in again. Repeat by children building their own lesson plans,
several times, on a regular basis. creating songs, presentations and posters
they are reiterating multiplications to
• Try reciting the times tables out of order, themselves as well as helping to teach
by pointing to numbers in the sequence others their times tables.
on the board.
• Work backwards so your students look to
identify the question that could be being
asked from the answer. For example, if the
answer is 36, what could the question have
been? 6 x 6, 4 x 9, 18 x 2? Pre-write the
answer on the whiteboard and play Splat!,
so that when a student finds the question
to the answer, the number gets ‘splatted’
off the board!
10Testing & Assessing
Development
In 2016, it was announced by Education students. “When teaching times tables, I
Secretary Nicky Morgan that all Year 6 use weekly ‘speed’ testing.” Vicky
students in England are to be tested on Redshaw’s experience was true of the
their times tables. majority of the teachers we spoke to.
At the time, Schools Minister Nick Gibb Great Activity Idea: Turn your weekly test
said, “It is my view that there should be into something the children look forward
a multiplication check. It was in our to. Pick a song (perhaps a genre of music
manifesto in 2015 that there would be. you are looking to introduce them to) and
We think times tables are a very important get them to complete as many questions
part of mathematical knowledge.” This as possible before the track ends.
makes it more important than ever to
learn multiplication well before embarking Great Activity Idea: Organise a shoot-
on secondary education. out-style competition. The children form
two lines so that the ones at the front can
“For children in the 1950s, there was an compete against one another and answer
expectation that they should know their the teacher’s quick question. “What’s 5 x
times tables,” said Professor Alan 2?” The quicker responder stays in the
Smithers, Director of the Centre for game, the slower stands down to be
Education at Buckingham University. replaced by another student, and the
“This was cast aside in the 1960s - but numbers playing reduce until there’s
then we found that we were well behind a winner.
other countries as international
comparisons grew in importance. Now Top Tip: To further boost those children
we have gone back, we have come in a who are performing particularly well,
full circle really.” award them with ‘Ask Me!’ badges. The
other children should then be
Before the standardised tests (SATs) of encouraged to ask these students
KS2, regular testing should be introduced quick-fire times tables so they can
in school in order for the prospect to showcase their knowledge and enjoy
seem more ‘normal’ when they arrive in their new-found kudos!
Year 6. A good idea is to start off with
more informal testing methods, so that
they appear less scary to younger
11Homework &
Parental Involvement
As with every aspect of learning, it’s important kings, and give jack a value of 11, the queen a value
that it’s reinforced positively in the home of 12. Draw out two cards and ask the child to
where possible. multiply the numbers together.
Parents and carers should be encouraged to get Another great resource is EducationCity’s Home
involved with different teaching strategies and by Access which allows children to access the fun and
creating their own games. For parents with engaging activities they access at school at home
children in KS1, this may simply involve playing to reinforce the work they are doing in the
board games at home with their families or classroom. One of our subsequent sections
incorporating basic counting into their daily lives focuses on these resources and how EducationCity
by counting paving stones or similar. For parents can help in both the classroom and at home.
with children in Key Stage 2, it may include
involving their children in more complex counting,
such as working out change at the supermarket.
When it comes to those years when students are
learning times tables at school, parents can
continue to support their children by playing
games with stacks of coins and packs of sweets.
Packs of cards offer lots of opportunities for
multiplication too. Firstly, take out the aces and
12Extra Support
Additional support should be given to those Deputy Head Amy Bain suggested that:
children who may find mathematics difficult. “We always try a range of strategies to meet the
This could mean extra time being dedicated to different learner types as well as showing the
the area, or working with students in smaller children there are different ways to learn.”
groups where a more targeted approach can be
taken to reflect their needs. Vicky Redshaw, another of the teachers we
contacted, agreed that a multitude of strategies
We hear from a Special Educational Needs (SEN) should be presented to the child: “I employ all the
teacher and how she uses different teaching different strategies for each learner, so they can
methods with her students to produce the use different strategies for different times tables.”
best results. As she said, these may be used exclusively or in
conjunction with other ways of learning.
Lauren Casey is a SEN teacher and said, “Trying to
teach SEN students the times tables are at times a
minefield. Often, some students can grasp the
‘simple’ times tables that other students won’t;
but, on occasion, some students grasp the more
difficult times tables and cannot fathom the
‘simple’ ones. They struggled with the fact that the
same pattern isn’t apparent for all the times times
and kept asking me why this was the case.”
13EducationCity Tools
Teaching times tables can be a complex and Times tables songs are a favourite of many already
sometimes daunting experience. using EducationCity, including Mrs Redshaw from
Brooke Hill Academy in Oakham, who’s been
Practice is critical, as outlined before, and this is telling us all about how she uses them in her
where EducationCity, the award-winning teaching, classroom. Mrs Redshaw said, “Always looking to
learning and assessment resource can come in make learning fun, I turn to EducationCity to help
helpful. Founded in 1999, the company has been me. Covering the 2 – 12 times tables the
dedicated to developing new ways of delivering multiplication songs make for fun and engaging
curriculum content. Created by educationalists class participation and work great as an
and loved by children worldwide, EducationCity introduction to the subject. Including friendly
is proven to engage children and improve their characters alongside great graphics and enjoyable
attainment. songs – the children won’t realise they are learning.”
Amy Bain is also a fan: “We LOVE the sing-along
You can find engaging, educational and songs. The 12 times table song is my favourite -
curriculum-linked content on EducationCity, which and the children know it!” Tom Phillips agrees. He
aims to support students aged 3 to 12 years old said, “Children love the songs and we’ve made
and their teachers. The resource offers a multitude them available for homework and for the children
of activities to support the learning and assessment to use at home.”
of times tables, which are structured to address
national learning objectives. The resources are EducationCity also offers times tables challenges
accessible anytime, anywhere and allow teachers testing multiplication and division both separately
to plan in advance, set students work and assess and alone. Their Mental Maths Topic Tool is
their progress. In addition to mathematics, it covers customisable and focuses on testing times tables.
English, science, computing, French, Spanish and “I start my children with the songs, and then use
learning English as an additional language. a Topic Tool to demonstrate the activity,” said
14We LOVE the sing- Sarah Cook. Perhaps the most popular Friendly competition is a teaching strategy
along songs. The 12
aspect of the EducationCity resources is in itself, as some students really come
the PlayLive Maths feature. Students race into their own when pitched against
times table song is to answer as many questions as they others. Vicky Redshaw added, “PlayLive
my favourite - and can in 60 seconds. Sarah Cook continues, is popular when the children are able to
the children know it!
“The children use PlayLive to practise at battle against other learners around the
home after completing homework world.” The interactivity is similar to that
activities that match the table we are which children are familiar with in leisure
focusing on. I like being able to set the time computer games.
same thing we have done at school so
that they can have it reinforced at home.” We have previously marked the
importance of testing and continually
Lauren Casey works with SEN students assessing a student’s progress with their
and explains, “One day, I introduced them times table learning. EducationCity’s
to PlayLive – something clicked and this SuccessTracker allows teachers to
became the greatest tool at my disposal. individually monitor children’s scores
Students wanted to play this every Maths and keep a track of development whilst
lessons, as well as at break time – there getting to grips with multiplication.
was even a PlayLive competition
happening every lunchtime! After a few
weeks (spending 5 to 10 minutes on
PlayLive every Maths lesson) I gave the
students a times tables test – the results
were so much better than before”.
15Conclusion
Children need mathematics skills, this used to help students memorise
cannot be argued against. Grasping multiplication facts.
times tables leaves them prepared for
National Curriculum testing in KS2 and Tabs must be kept of children’s learning
stands them in good stead for further to assess their development and help
mathematical learning. identify which strategies are working for
individual children. This knowledge can
This knowledge is then transferable to be fed into teaching plans and shared
real-life ‘grown up’ situations, where with children’s parents and carers to
quick mental maths and multiplication tailor subsequent teaching to the child’s
knowledge proves itself invaluable. specific needs.
Making this obvious to children from the
outset will emphasise the importance of We hope by reading our Creative Ways
learning multiplication facts now, which to Teaching Times Tables paper, you’ve
benefit them in later life. either found some new ideas to try or
just been reassured that you’re already
Making links with other areas of mathematics following best practice.
and logic helps both teacher and child to
break down the sheer amount of number To conclude, not all mathematics and
facts into manageable chunks. academic development is centred around
Recognising that multiplications are learning times tables. However, children
commutative in value, as mentioned with a strong grasp of multiplication have
before can ‘cut down’ what is left to the strongest foundations on which to
learn by two thirds. An overall view of develop their mathematical understanding.
times table learning seen in this way As always, a combination of strategies is
makes the whole task less daunting required to embed learning, which in this
and more feasible. case, seems to be both a mix of techniques
for learning styles and learning by rote.
Rote learning and regular practice are still
fantastically effective in ingraining times
tables into children’s minds, while visual
and physical stimuli work well as illustrative
aids to show children how multiplication
works. Music and singing are traditionally
16About The Author
EducationCity is an award-winning To see EducationCity’s resources
online teaching, learning and assessment for yourself, please go to:
resource, used in schools in over 75 www.educationcity.com/free-trial
countries around the world. for a no obligation, 21 day free trial
for your school.
Founded in 1999, it has over 15 years’
experience of supporting teachers to
teach times tables, and has developed a
whole range of content to do this. This
includes Learn Screens to introduce the
mathematical concepts, Activities to
reinforce knowledge, and Topic Tools to
help students practise their skills. It has
also developed a PlayLive Maths challenge
dedicated to multiplication to encourage
the speedy recall of multiplication facts,
as well as problem-solving Activities
where the students have to put their
knowledge of times tables to practical use.
All these resources have been created
by its in-house Education Team with the
support and input of many teachers in
the field. The team would like to take this
opportunity to thank these teachers here,
along with those that also helped create
this document. Your feedback and practical
insights are very much appreciated.
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