Times Tables: 8 Tips to Learn Them for Good
Learning the times tables starts with a relief: there is far less to memorise than it looks. Of the hundred facts from 1 × 1 to 10 × 10, a large share can be worked out in seconds. Here are the shortcuts that lighten the load, then the method that turns "I can work it out" into "I just know it".
1. Half the work is already done
3 × 7 and 7 × 3 give the same answer. Once a child has seen it (counters laid out in 3 rows of 7, then 7 rows of 3), the hundred-square grid shrinks to fifty-five different facts.
2. The 1 and 10 tables are free
Multiplying by 1 changes nothing; multiplying by 10 adds a zero on the right. Two whole tables in a minute.
3. The 2 times table is just doubles
6 × 2 is 6 + 6. Doubles are usually known early, which makes the 2s a foothold for the rest.
4. For 4 and 8: double, double again
7 × 4 is double double 7: 14, then 28. And 7 × 8 is one more double: 56.
5. The 5s are half the 10s
8 × 5 is half of 80, so 40. Answers always end in 0 or 5, an instant check.
6. The finger trick for 9
Hands flat, fold down the finger matching the number: for 9 × 4, the fourth finger. Three fingers stay on the left and six on the right: 36. Another pattern: in the 9 times table, the digits of the answer always add up to 9.
7. Square numbers as anchors
3 × 3, 4 × 4, 5 × 5… Squares stick well and help with neighbours: 6 × 7 is 6 × 6 plus 6, which is 42.
8. Only a handful are truly hard
With the tricks above in place, just a few facts have no obvious shortcut: 6 × 7, 6 × 8, 7 × 8 and a couple of neighbours. Work on those first instead of chanting whole tables in order.
From "I can work it out" to "I just know it"
Shortcuts help you find an answer. The goal is to stop needing them, so the answer comes straight away. That is automaticity, and it only comes with practice:
- Short and often beats long and rare: a few minutes a day rather than an hour on Sunday.
- Mixed up: reciting a table in order mostly trains reciting. Facts should come shuffled.
- With a gentle time limit: with only a few seconds, there is no time to count on fingers, and memory takes over.
A game to practise
That is the idea behind FiveTick, a free mental math game: one problem, four answers, five seconds to choose. Multiplication mode shuffles the tables, the level rises as you improve, and a game takes a few minutes. It runs in the browser with no account and no ads, and on Android and iPhone.