Learning Times tables

[Parapa]

We have just received a message from our son's teacher that they have started focussing on times tables with the message 'We should not go back to the old school method where we ask the kids eg 4 x 7 and they should answer - that is not necessary. Instead it is the times tables rhymes we should practice ie 2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20 (for the 2 times table).

I must admit that I always learnt the 'old school method' and was wondering what your experience with this method is. Does it work?

I am a teacher primarily in Key Stage 1. At ages 5/6 there is a focus on counting in 2s 5s and 10s. Then at age 6/7 add in threes and begin formal writing and recording of them as multiplication and matching division facts. At age 7/8 add in 4s and 6s again counting first then facts. At age 9 they have to do a formal times table test where they have six seconds to answer a question based on any table and could be multiplication or division. They have to get 100% to pass and there are around 25 questions but schools are not told the results.

Times tables rock stars is a good way of helping them get times tables in a fun way. One of the games mimics the test in content and style. The children in my class really enjoyed using this to learn.

They have different aims. The grid with dots helps children new to the concept of multiplication to understand what it is all about and what "7x2", say, really means. The multiplication square shows the multiplication facts (the "answers") and, if children are helped to study it carefully, the pattern for each table. It is useful for quick reference and for helping children see patterns and work out which multiplication facts they still don’t know (often fewer than they think), but it can look overwhelming to some children.