How can I help my 10 yr old DD learn her times tables?

[NancyJoan]

My DD is going into Yr 6 in Sept. She's bright, able, avid reader, in top set for maths and spellings, but somehow has got this far without knowing her times tables by heart.

We've tried a CD, tried chanting them, flash cards etc, but to no avail. She can work them out, but doesn't have that instant recall, and it affects her numbers bonds too.

Any ideas for what we can try for the next month to get them wedged into her brain?

Poster on the loo door!

Little and often. Pick an activity , before you get down from the dinner table, when you get in the car, when you walk down the garden path, etc. and whenever you do that activity ask her questions. With my DD's its walking up the hill to the main road. We started it to take their mind off the walk, it's a steep hill. We used to get them to count to ten or recite the alphabet when they were first learning them. But it's been great for times table learning too.

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/timestable/interactive.htm

Hit the button - Google it. Works for all the children I teach.

I second avocadosweet's idea of poster(on somewhere dd sees often everyday.)
It worked for my ds, looking at it unconsciously everyday without any effort.

www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

learnyourtables.co.uk/en/index2.htm

If she understands the principle of times table it may really be an issue of practising instant recall.

DD uses several apps, mainly Squeebles or "Hit the Button". The second one is recommended by her school. Both are not free but the best money we spent. DD normally practice 3-4x a couple of minutes each morning and we really found it made a big difference.

Ooh, I hadn't thought of an app on an online game. Amazing!

Thank you everyone, so much. She's cartwheeling in the garden at the moment, will have a look at some of these after lunch.

If she is remotely compete I've with herself, HTB will make her speed up, believe me! You could give her a reward when she can score over 25 on a table

Devise some 20 question times table tests yourself, just in random order (so using all 12 of the times tables each time). Have her do a test every day (or as often as you want, but needs to be fairly frequently). Each test will only take her at the most 5 mins so it neednt feel like a huge load. Have her time herself and write down the time. At first she will take the full 5 mins, but fairly quickly she will get quicker and the times tables will stick in her head without even trying. She will be able to see how her time is improving and that will encourage her. Well it worked for DD1 anyway.

My DD is exactly the same as yours NancyJoan just a year younger. I hadn't thought of an app either so will be trying HTB later.

Thanks for posting.

This one is good too.

www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/mathmagician/mathsmulti.html

And this.

www.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/mathmagician/maths1.html

Came on to say Hit the button. It works. Short snappy times spent on it are best.

Another fan here of Hit the button.

Repetition, repetition, repetition!

Hit the button really is fab!

Sqeebles is an app and has helped my 10yo DD massively. She plays it now even though she doesn't need it anymore.

Squeebles v popular here also.

Laminate some grids to write them in and time her filling them in - reward her for speed. Same for number bonding. God while Mum is cooking tea exercise

If you want some worksheets

www.csgvillageschool.org/cracking-times-tables/

Is she dyslexic? Oddly inability to learn times tables is often an indicator of mild dyslexia.

You use a grid rather than a list. So 1 to 10 across top and 1 to 10 down the side and then fill in the grid with the multiple (so 2 and 10 would be 20). If you google you will find examples

You have had several useful replies, but this might also help:

To learn TABLES, do them in groups that have a relationship, thus:

x2, x4, x8

x3, x6, x12

5 and 10 are easy

7 and 9 are rather harder.

Starting with TWO times TABLE, I always say: "Imagine the class is lining up in pairs; each child will have a partner, if there is an EVEN number in the class. If one child is left without a partner, then the number is ODD, because an odd one is left out."

Use Lego bricks again, lay them out in a column of 2 wide to learn 2x table. Go half way down the column, and move half the bricks up, so that now the column is 4 bricks wide. That gives the start of 4x table.

Then do similar things with 3x and 6x.

With 5x, try and count in 'fives', and notice the relationship with 'ten' - they will alternate, ending in 5 then 10.

It is important to try and UNDERSTAND the relationships between numbers, and not just learn them 'by rote'.

An inexpensive solar powered calculator (no battery to run out!) can help learn tables by 'repeated addition'. So: enter 2+2 and press = to give 4. KEEP PRESSING = and it should add on 2 each time, giving 2 times table.

Then do similar things with larger numbers, try and think of the answer, then watch the result from pressing = and see if it matches your estimate.

I would whole heartedly recommend PLYT.

You can use it for tables and a zillion other maths skills. DS asks to play every day. I am going to get a set for school too and recommend to my Head that it's one of the games we should have in every year group's intervention kit- it is really great.

In addition to the above you could try times table bingo - wipe boards/paper and pens - choose a table to practise - the players write down say 6 multiples of that particular table on the wipe board/paper eg if it's the 7 x table - 21, 35, 49, etc and you call eg 5 x 7 if the player has 35 they cross it off. Keep going until a player has crossed off all their multiples.. Also you can make up games for time tables using a pack of playing cards. One game you could try - choose a table to practice. If it's the 7 x table lay a 7 down flat so your child can see it. Shuffle the cards then start to turn over the cards one at a time, whatever is turned over your child has to multiply it with the 7 and call out the answer so eg if it's a 4 then 4 x7 - answer will be 28. If child gives correct answer they keep the card. The Royal cards could have a value of 10, 11 or 12. Children love playing this game against each other and it helps to improve rapid recall.
As others have said little and often is best and doing a mixture of things in one session prevents it from being boring - so charts, different games on apps, playing times table card games or more board type games. You can devise your own snakes and ladders type game with times table type questions or word problems involving a times table if you have the time or inclination! I wouldn't move on to a new times tables until they're secure in the one they're learning. Once they are secure, revise it from time to time. Oh and there are different tricks for learning certain tables - in particular the 9s - google them. Your daughter will be a times table champ by the time you've finished!

Some great advice on here.
I found not doing them in order helped.
10x and 11x are really easy.
9x is easy as answers add up to 9.
2x and 5x are not too bad.
Found it helped to then learn the squares - 2X2, 3x3 etc.
Once we did that we worked on the others and filled the gaps in.
For us 5/10 mins on car journeys was a good time to practise as not doing anything else to be dragged away from.

Get her to write them all out in columns so she can learn them. She can also see the patterns emerging in most of them in column form.
Also, laminate all the times tables and put them above her bed.
Also, randomly test her. When you're out and about, in the car, ask her questions. She will lack confidence and may get cross at herself if she doesn't recall quick enough. So reassure her and do it a bit more and eventually she will click.
Also, written tests are good. So at home just write about 4 questions for her to answer, she may be slow at first and may get angry with herself, don't worry, just assist and try again.
Don't labour on this for too long in one go, and know the difference between lack of confidence/frustration and brain melt!
My child had the same struggle with fast recall, albeit younger but I think these steps make sense.