Times tables tricks: how children learn every table more easily

Understanding before memorising

The times tables cover every fact from 1 × 1 to 10 × 10, which makes 100. Because 3 × 7 and 7 × 3 have the same answer, only 55 of them are truly different. Knowing that already saves almost half the work. On top of that, many facts can be derived from a few secure ones. This is exactly what classroom strategies use. Teachers often call them core facts, swapped facts and neighbour facts.

The building blocks

Core facts are the tables of 1, 2, 5 and 10. They are easy, and everything else can be built from them.

Swapped facts use the fact that order does not matter. A rectangle of 3 rows with 7 dots each looks, turned round, like 7 rows with 3 dots each. Whoever knows 3 × 7 also knows 7 × 3.

Neighbour facts move one step away from a known fact. If I know 7 × 7 = 49, then 7 × 8 = 49 + 7 = 56.

Tricks for every table

• Ten times table: add a zero. 10 × 6 = 60.
• Five times table: half of the ten times table. 5 × 8: half of 80 is 40.
• Two times table: double. 2 × 7 = 14.
• Four times table: double twice. 4 × 7: 7 → 14 → 28.
• Eight times table: double three times. 8 × 6: 6 → 12 → 24 → 48.
• Three times table: two times plus one time. 3 × 7 = 14 + 7 = 21.
• Six times table: five times plus one time. 6 × 7 = 35 + 7 = 42.
• Seven times table: five times plus two times. 7 × 8 = 40 + 16 = 56.
• Nine times table: ten times minus one time. 9 × 7 = 70 − 7 = 63.

For the nine times table there is also a well-known finger trick: hold both hands side by side and number the fingers 1 to 10. For 9 × 7, fold down the seventh finger. There are 6 fingers to its left (the tens) and 3 to its right (the ones): 63.

Which order to learn them in?

A tried and tested order is: 10s, 5s, 2s, then 4s and 8s as doublings, then 3s, 6s and 9s. The 7s come last, because their hardest facts (6 × 7, 7 × 7 and 7 × 8) are already known from other tables by then. That is also reassuring: if your child does not know 7 × 6 by heart yet, they have often learned 6 × 7 already, and the two are swapped facts.

How to practise sensibly

• Mix instead of reciting. Whoever counts through the table from 1 to 10 learns the sequence, not the single fact. Ask in random order.
• Two piles. Sort fact cards into “sure” and “not yet”. Only revisit the second pile.
• Ask for the route. “How did you work out 6 × 7?” The route matters more than a fast answer.
• Short and regular. Five minutes a day beats half an hour at the weekend.
• Draw and build. A rectangle on squared paper makes swapped facts visible. Matching practice sheets are in our printable multiplication exercises.

How to keep practising relaxed overall is covered in the guide Multiplication practice: a guide for parents.

Where Recheneule can help

Recheneule practises times tables and division in short game rounds for grades 1 to 4, with no ads and no account, so facts can be revised in between. More on the Recheneule page.