Knowing the times tables by heart makes almost every later topic in school maths easier: division, fractions, percentages and even long multiplication all depend on them. Many children find tables hard because they try to memorise them as one long list. Learning them in a smart order, with a trick for each, turns a big job into a small one.
The Job Is Smaller Than It Looks
The tables from 1 to 10 contain 100 facts. Two simple ideas cut that number down sharply:
- Turn-arounds: 3 × 8 is the same as 8 × 3. Once a child knows one, they know the other, so 100 facts become 55.
- Easy tables first: the 1, 2, 5 and 10 tables follow obvious patterns. Once they are known, only the facts that use 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 on both sides are left.
That leaves just 21 facts to really learn, such as 3 × 4, 6 × 7 and 8 × 9. Telling a child this at the start makes the whole task feel possible.
A Learning Order That Works
| Stage | Tables | Why this order |
|---|
| 1 | 1, 2, 10, 5 | Clear patterns: doubling, adding a zero, ending in 0 or 5 |
| 2 | 11, 9, 4 | Each has a trick that makes it quick |
| 3 | 3, 6, 8 | Build on 2 and 4: the 6 table is double the 3 table, and the 8 table is double the 4 table |
| 4 | 7, then 12 | Most of the 7 table is already known from the others by now |
| 5 | 13 to 20 | Worked out by splitting into 10 and the rest |
Move to the next stage only when the current tables come quickly, in any order, not just when recited from the top.
One Trick for Each Table
- 2: double the number. 2 × 8 = 8 + 8 = 16.
- 4: double, then double again. 4 × 7: 14, then 28.
- 5: answers end in 5 or 0, and 5 × a number is half of 10 × that number. 5 × 8 = half of 80 = 40.
- 8: double three times. 8 × 6: 12, 24, 48.
- 9: up to 9 × 10, the digits of each answer add up to 9 (18, 27, 36...), and the tens digit is one less than the number you multiply by: 9 × 7 = 63.
- 10: put a 0 at the end.
- 11: up to 11 × 9, write the digit twice: 11 × 6 = 66.
- 12: times 10 plus times 2. 12 × 7 = 70 + 14 = 84.
- 13 to 19: split into 10 and the rest. 14 × 6 = 10 × 6 + 4 × 6 = 60 + 24 = 84.
- 20: times 2, then add a zero. 20 × 7 = 140.
The facts children forget most often are 6 × 7 = 42, 6 × 8 = 48, 7 × 7 = 49 and 7 × 8 = 56. A rhyme helps with the last one: "5, 6, 7, 8: 56 is 7 × 8".
A Five-Minute Daily Routine
Short, regular practice beats a long session once a week. Memory researchers call this spaced practice, and it is the single most useful habit for learning facts.
- One minute: read and say. Read today's table out loud once, or listen to it being read.
- Two minutes: hide and recall. Cover the answers, say each one, then check. Trying to remember is what fixes a fact in memory; reading it again does far less.
- One minute: mix it up. Ask facts out of order: 6 × 4, 6 × 9, 6 × 2. Children who can only recite from the top get stuck in tests.
- One minute: the tricky list. Keep a small list of facts your child got wrong and go over those last.
Our multiplication tables page is built for this routine: pick a table, tap "Hide answers" and tap each ? to check, use "Listen" to hear it read aloud, and finish with the quick quiz.
Keep It Positive
- Praise the effort, not just the speed. Pressure and timed drills too early can make children anxious about maths.
- Use everyday moments. "Four packets of 6 biscuits: how many biscuits?" in the shop or kitchen links tables to real life.
- Connect the four operations. When 7 × 8 = 56 is known, show that 56 ÷ 8 = 7. Our addition, subtraction and division table pages use the same practice tools, so a child can move between them.
- Print a chart. A table chart from 2 to 20 on the wall near the study table gives many small reminders every day.
Every child learns at their own pace, so treat any timetable as a guide. Open the multiplication tables below, choose today's table and start the five-minute routine.