How to learn times tables: a 10-minute daily routine
Times tables stick through short, regular practice, not long sessions. Here is a ten-minute routine you can repeat every day, a trick for each table, a six-week plan, and what to do when a fact refuses to stay put.
Why a routine beats a long session
The Education Endowment Foundation’s guidance on teaching maths in key stages 2 and 3 says pupils should be able to recall number facts, including their times tables, quickly. Quick recall matters because facts a child already knows take up no thinking space, which leaves more for harder problems such as fractions and long multiplication.
Quick recall comes from repeating a fact many times over many days. That is why ten minutes every day beats an hour once a week.
The ten-minute routine
| Minutes | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Warm up by counting in steps of the table you are on, out loud (3, 6, 9, 12 and so on), forwards then backwards. | It wakes up the pattern before you ask for single facts. |
| 4 | Work on one new or shaky table. Ask the facts in order, then out of order, and say each answer in a full sentence: “six sevens are forty-two”. | Order builds the pattern, and mixing it up builds recall. |
| 2 | Mix in two or three tables learned earlier, in random order. | Reviewing old tables keeps them from fading. |
| 2 | Finish with a quick round against a timer, and try to beat yesterday’s number of correct answers. | It builds speed, and ends on something your child can win. |
A trick for every table
Tricks help children work out a fact they cannot yet remember, which is how they build confidence while the fact is still settling.
| Table | Trick | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Double the number. | 2 × 7 is 7 + 7 = 14 |
| 5 | Half of the 10 times table, so the answer ends in 0 or 5. | 5 × 6 is half of 60 = 30 |
| 10 | Put a zero after the number, for whole numbers. | 10 × 8 = 80 |
| 3 | Double and add one more. The digits of every answer add up to a multiple of 3. | 3 × 7 is 14 + 7 = 21; 2 + 1 = 3 |
| 4 | Double, then double again. | 4 × 6 is 6, 12, 24 |
| 8 | Double three times. | 8 × 6 is 12, 24, 48 |
| 6 | The 5 times table plus one more group. | 6 × 7 is 35 + 7 = 42 |
| 7 | The 5 times table plus the 2 times table. | 7 × 8 is 40 + 16 = 56 |
| 9 | The 10 times table take away one group. The digits of each answer up to 9 × 10 add up to 9. | 9 × 7 is 70 − 7 = 63; 6 + 3 = 9 |
| 11 | For 11 × 1 to 11 × 9, repeat the digit. | 11 × 4 = 44 |
| 12 | The 10 times table plus the 2 times table. | 12 × 7 is 70 + 14 = 84 |
A six-week plan
- Week 1: the 2, 5 and 10 tables, which many children find quickest.
- Week 2: the 3 and 4 tables, using “double and add one” and “double the double”.
- Week 3: the 8 table, as doubling the 4 table, and a review of everything so far.
- Week 4: the 6 and 9 tables.
- Week 5: the 7, 11 and 12 tables. By now many of the answers are already known, because 7 × 6 is the same as 6 × 7.
- Week 6: all the tables mixed together, with timed rounds. Spend extra time on the handful of facts that are still slow.
Fewer facts than it looks
Because 6 × 7 and 7 × 6 give the same answer, each pair is only one fact to learn. By the time your child reaches the 7 table, they already know 7 × 2, 7 × 3, 7 × 4, 7 × 5 and 7 × 6 from earlier tables. What is left is a small group of hard ones, such as 6 × 7, 6 × 8, 7 × 8, 7 × 9 and 8 × 9. Give these a bit of extra time.
Games that make it stick
- Dice or cards: roll or turn over two, multiply them, and the first to say the answer scores a point.
- Bingo: a grid of answers, and you call out the facts.
- Car-journey quiz: ask one fact at each set of traffic lights.
- Race against yourself: how many facts in one minute, and can you beat it tomorrow?
- Teach it back: your child quizzes you, and you get a few wrong on purpose.
When a fact will not stick
- Write it somewhere you both see it for a week, such as on the fridge or the bathroom mirror, then swap it for another.
- Work it out in a different way each time. 7 × 8 can be 5 × 8 plus 2 × 8, or 7 × 4 doubled.
- Keep a short list of the three or four facts that are still slow, and start every session with them.
- Check the division facts too: 56 ÷ 7 = 8 helps the multiplication fact settle.
- If your child is getting anxious, stop for a day. Calm children recall faster.
Practise with Oakling Primary Scholars
Primary Scholars has fifty stages of multiplication practice. The first twelve stages go through the tables one at a time, then the stages mix them and move on to larger multiplication. There is also a timed round in the style of the Year 4 check, with 25 questions and 6 seconds each. Parents can see which areas need more work.
Common questions
How long does it take to learn the times tables?
It varies from child to child. The national curriculum spreads them over Years 2 to 4, so there is plenty of time. Ten minutes a day on a routine like this works for many children.
Should my child learn the tables in order?
Yes, at first: counting in steps builds the pattern. Once the pattern is secure, mix up the order, because the real test is recalling a fact on its own.
Is chanting the tables a good way to learn them?
It is a good start, especially for the 2, 5 and 10 tables. But children also need to answer single facts out of order, so move on to quick-fire questions as soon as the chant is easy.
My child knows the answers but is slow. What helps?
Use timed rounds and aim to beat yesterday’s score. Speed comes from repetition, and from tidying up the few facts that are still worked out rather than remembered.
Do we need an app or flashcards?
No. Counting out loud, a pack of cards and a kitchen timer are enough. An app can add variety and show you which facts are slow.