Times Tables - best way to help (Year 2)

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DS(7) teacher has asked that we particularly help him with times tables at home (x 2’s, 5’s and 10) as he is struggling a bit.

What is the best way to help him with this please? I was forced to learn off a chart by rote and absolutely hated it and shed many tears of frustration so I obviously don’t want this for DS - I’d like to make it as engaging and fun(!) as possible.

The school subscribe to TT Rockstars but the last time I looked at it the multiplication was ridiculously difficult i.e 62 x 7 etc. I’ll check again but I did ask other parents and no one else was using it for this very reason.

My mum wrote them all out in big numbers and then stuck them all over my bedroom and the bathroom. Then when she was relatively sure I was 90% there, she started quizzing me on them during meals and in the car etc - not til she thought I was likely to get most of them right though!

Posted too soon - this way it wasn't really learning etc, it was just part of life and I didn't notice she was teaching me.

DS uses Times Table Rock Stars - you can set it to just give the tables they’ve covered so far.

i was coming on to recommend time tables rockstar but my son was looking over my shoulder and has sent you the following message bless him!

”your teacher/parent gets to choose your tables, after you have done around 20, you will be given a gig, which tests your skill. There are many game modes which help you, there is single player and online (you can’t chat on it, just go against people) there are many ranks and you can get certificates from the website which help to make you want to do more”

We used the Percy Parker songs, it was a shit time every car journey for a while but DD knew her times tables off by heart.

This doesn't cover 2s, 5s, or 10s but my daughter really struggled with her times tables and learnt them very quickly with this book Times Fables: Learn your times... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1979752796?ref=ppxpoppmobappshare

I share you're view on TT rockstars, my daughter didn't like the timer either so never wanted to go on it.

Top marks hit the button.

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

Btw beware they have to do a times table test in year 4 when they have 6 seconds to answer each question, so best to learn the actual sums e.g. 2x10=20 and not just learn to count up eg 2, 4, 6, 8… as they’ll run out of time! TT Rockstars has a mode where they can practice doing 25 questions, 6 seconds each.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/multiplication-tables-check-information-for-parents

Theres a visual method that I teach my year twos who struggle.
E.g. 3 x 5
Draw three circles. Put 5 dots in each and then count all to solve. Slower but builds confidence as they have a way to solve.
Other ways are counting in patterns. Youtube Jack Hartmann counting in 2 5 10 and have a dance as you count the steps.
Then put the two skills together and you are away.
E.g. same steps with circles as before but instead of 5 dots, you write 5, 10, 15.
Then you can solve all the 5 times times without getting stuck on 8 x 5. You already know how to count the pattern, then draw the 8 circles.

Then only way to get faster though is practise like ttr but this will help if there are any issues understanding multiplication. Hope thats helpful.

If he’d enjoy games, something like crew in a stew is good if he’s ok with the maths being pretty up front. My seven year old loves it. I’m agnostic. Else Kingdomino is a very good game and requires them to do some multiplying for scores.

You need to do the gig on TTRS so it knows what level to set your tables at when you're in automatic training mode (as opposed to the teacher just setting it to the 2s, 5s and 10s). Then if you practise in garage mode it will keep asking you the same questions from one half of a times table again and again until you know them. After a while, you do another gig and if you still don't know them it sort of starts again, keeping going over the same questions until you get them. It's only when you go onto Studio and the other modes that it asks you questions from all tables. Studio is also what moves you up and down the leaderboard.

Play snakes and ladders/ludo with one or two dice and x the answer by 2, 3, 4 etc whichever times table you are working on. If you forget to do the multiplication you move back the number shown on the dice.

When my kids were small I bought a cassette to play in the car. Each table had a different rhythm as bit like rap music. All 3 learned them with no problems. They used to sing them. My dd knew them all by 6 1/2. She is an auditory learner so it suited her learning style. Boys were about 8.

In all honesty this is our new favourite app partly for keeping my boys quiet over the holidays which was welcome😆. Only found it by accident as we had another of the developers apps installed, which was a bit young for my boys! This on the other hand this is aimed at all ages , not just very young. It's great because of it's number range , they use it for revising and playing! Have seen real improvement in my boys standards at school as a result of this, and it covers other disciplines as well dividing adding subtraction multiplication. Very helpful here is the link🙂 MathMatix

Can I just check with some kids how the times tables tests work? I assume these are questions read out that the kids have to answer?

If so, is it a set wording they use and if so what is it (eg. 3 times 4 equals ….. 7 lots of 2 is ….)?

Keen to make sure I’m not confusing my DS by using my own way of reciting them to ask him questions!

@PapyOrange you're clearly advertising, but it looks good, I've downloaded 😂

I promise i am not advertising we just like it!😍

Hit the Button online.

In DC's school it is done on the computer using the keyboard, so it is worth making sure they are confident and quick using that too. I make my DCs use the keyboard when using TT Rockstars (rather than clicking on the on-screen numbers using the mouse) for this reason. The questions appear in the standard form eg 4x5

My dd goes in to rockstars. She has access through school
But can do it on any of our computers at home.

Lego is good. Put bricks together to make rectangles that a X circles long and Y circles wide. Than count up to solve. Practice counting the rows of 2s 5s and 10s.

Thanks, I think I’m showing my age because I remember them being on tape!

Guess it’s up to the school how/if they reach them to recite them then. I’ll just keep varying the ways I ask them which is much better for understanding anyway.

If TTR is same format it explains why schools love it so much!

Another vote for TT rockstars being good as long as you set it to what they are supposed to learn. As they progress it has a heat map that shows you which questions they answer correctly and quickly and which ones they get wrong or are slow, and it works on those questions. If your child is not getting the whole concept then we had stacking cubes which are good as a visual.

These

If your child is struggling, make sure they understand what multiplication is. (It is just repeated addition, so 2+2+2+2+2 is a long way of doing 5x2.) If the concept is tricky, keep using the language '5 lots of 2'. Show him this with pieces of pasta or marbles or whatever. Actually put out 5 groups of two marbles each, and count them.

Work with concrete objects until he feels really confident. He can memorise as he goes. Then go on to the more abstract times tables online games, like TTRS or Hit the Button. You can find games that aren't timed, to take the pressure off if needed. Some children are motivated by the competition, some just get stressed.