Sum Rocket guide
Times tables: how to learn them fast
Learn the easy tables first (10, 2, 5, 11), then the ones with tricks (4, 8, 9, 3, 6), and leave 7 and 12 for last, when most of their facts are already known. Practise a few minutes every day rather than an hour once a week, and spend the time on the facts your child still finds hard.
The best order to learn them
There are 144 facts in the times tables from 1 × 1 to 12 × 12, but far fewer to learn than that. Every fact has a turn-around (7 × 8 is the same as 8 × 7), which nearly halves the job to 78, and the 1, 2, 5, 10 and 11 tables are quick to learn. Teach them in an order where each table leans on the last:
- 10, 2 and 5. Counting in tens, doubling, and half of ten times.
- 11 up to 9 × 11. The digit twice: 4 × 11 = 44.
- 4 and 8. Double the 2 times table, then double again.
- 3, then 6. Six times is double three times.
- 9. Ten times, take one lot away (or the finger trick).
- 7 and 12 last. By now most of their facts are turn-arounds your child already knows.
England's National Curriculum follows much the same path: the 2, 5 and 10 tables in Year 2, the 3, 4 and 8 tables in Year 3, and every table to 12 × 12 by the end of Year 4. In the US, the Common Core expects children to know all the products of two one-digit numbers from memory by the end of Grade 3.
A trick for every table
| Table | Trick | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Double the number | 2 × 8 = 8 + 8 = 16 |
| 4 | Double it, then double again | 4 × 7: 14, then 28 |
| 8 | Double three times | 8 × 6: 12, 24, 48 |
| 5 | Half of ten times | 5 × 7: half of 70 is 35 |
| 10 | Put a 0 on the end | 10 × 6 = 60 |
| 9 | Ten times, take one lot away | 9 × 7 = 70 − 7 = 63 |
| 11 | The digit twice (up to 9) | 11 × 6 = 66 |
| 12 | Ten times plus two times | 12 × 7 = 70 + 14 = 84 |
| 6 | Five times, add one more lot | 6 × 8 = 40 + 8 = 48 |
| 3 | Double it and add one more lot | 3 × 9 = 18 + 9 = 27 |
| 7 | Mostly turn-arounds by now; the rest by heart | 7 × 8 = 56 ("5, 6, 7, 8") |
How to practise so it sticks
Knowing a times table means answering without counting up: about three seconds or less. That fluency comes from short, regular practice:
- Little and often. Five to ten minutes a day beats a long session once a week.
- Spend the time on the hard facts. Once 2 × 5 is instant, asking it again teaches nothing. Spaced practice brings back the facts a child gets wrong or answers slowly, and leaves longer and longer gaps for the ones they know.
- Mix the order. Chanting a table in order is a good start, but children also need to recall 7 × 8 on its own.
- Say it aloud. Hearing and saying "seven eights are fifty-six" helps the fact stick.
- Keep it fun. A game with a goal (beat yesterday, reach the Moon) keeps a child coming back.
Sum Rocket does this for you: it remembers every fact a child has seen, brings back the hard ones a few questions later and again over the next days, and lets the known ones rest. A grown-ups' page shows a heat map of all 144 facts, so you can see which are still shaky.
The 12 × 12 times-table chart
| × | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 |
| 3 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 30 | 33 | 36 |
| 4 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 36 | 40 | 44 | 48 |
| 5 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 |
| 6 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 | 36 | 42 | 48 | 54 | 60 | 66 | 72 |
| 7 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 28 | 35 | 42 | 49 | 56 | 63 | 70 | 77 | 84 |
| 8 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 32 | 40 | 48 | 56 | 64 | 72 | 80 | 88 | 96 |
| 9 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 | 54 | 63 | 72 | 81 | 90 | 99 | 108 |
| 10 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | 70 | 80 | 90 | 100 | 110 | 120 |
| 11 | 11 | 22 | 33 | 44 | 55 | 66 | 77 | 88 | 99 | 110 | 121 | 132 |
| 12 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 48 | 60 | 72 | 84 | 96 | 108 | 120 | 132 | 144 |
Questions
What age should a child know their times tables?
In England, by the end of Year 4 (age 8 to 9): the National Curriculum expects every table to 12 × 12, and Year 4 pupils sit the Multiplication Tables Check in June. In the US, the Common Core expects children to know the products of two one-digit numbers from memory by the end of Grade 3.
How many times-table facts are there to learn?
There are 144 facts from 1 × 1 to 12 × 12, but only 78 different ones once you count each fact and its turn-around (7 × 8 and 8 × 7) once. The 1, 2, 5, 10 and 11 tables are quick, which leaves only around 20 harder facts for most children.
Which times table is the hardest?
For most children, the 7 and 8 tables (and the 12s), and facts like 7 × 8, 6 × 8 and 7 × 6. Learning them last means most of their facts are already known as turn-arounds.
How long does it take to learn the times tables?
It varies, but a few minutes of practice a day over a term is enough for most children to know the tables to 12 × 12, especially if the practice spends its time on the facts they still find hard.