Build Times Tables Confidence
- Margi & Dennis Brown Posted On Aug 12, 2021 | Seasonal Fun
Knowing the times tables off by heart is a key mental maths skill. All primary schools in England work towards achieving the National Curriculum outcome of students knowing their 1 - 12 times tables and their corresponding division facts off by heart by the end of Year 4. Times tables confidence and fluency form part of a cohesive series of early years maths mastery outlined by the DfE as ready-to-progress criteria, and this year children in Year 4 will complete the multiplication tables check.
In this guest blog on how to build times tables confidence, Dennis and Margi Brown, teachers and the creators of the tacklingtables method used extensively in primary schools across the UK offer helpful advice on how to build times tables confidence - and why it matters.
Check out other times tables related content:
Build times tables confidence
These key areas of learning lay the foundation for the rest of your child’s maths education and a confident grasp early on will help your child accomplish what the DfE refers to as ‘making connections’ – linking these basic maths concepts and using them to build an understanding of more complex maths concepts as they grow and learn.
Why times tables matter
Times tables fluency is one of the skills that makes it easier and quicker for children to work out maths problems in their heads, which helps them when they move on to more complex topics. Your child will need automatic recall of times tables and the ability to recognise multiples before being able to solve a division problem with a remainder.
A confident grasp of times tables helps with learning fractions, percentages, and short and long multiplication and division. Plus, when children can successfully recall and understand their times tables and division facts, it gives them confidence in their own problem-solving abilities.
The play-based approach
Learning times tables can be daunting, but play is the natural way children learn, and times tables games are an ideal play-based approach to help children develop a fluent understanding.
Being able to perform mental maths on demand can be stressful for many children (and adults!). Practise through play in the classroom and at home is an effective strategy to help children develop a deeper understanding of the times tables number relationships, while keeping them engaged, learning, and having fun. Even a few minutes a day makes a difference.
About tacklingtables
The National Curriculum sets out that children should learn, with recall, 1, 2, 5 and 10 times tables in Year 2. In Year 3, they need to learn 3, 4 and 8, and by Year 4, they need to be proficient in 6, 7, 9, 11 and 12.
Developed by experienced maths teachers Margi and Dennis Brown, tacklingtables is a fun cards game that offers teachers and parents a hands-on, play-based solution to learn and practise times tables 1-12.
How it works
The tackling tables range includes two products: A Class Set created for group learning, and a Student Set ideal for home use. Each set comes with a chart featuring the 1-12 times tables, colour-coded for each year’s teaching outcomes. Year 2’s times tables are shown as blue, Year 3 in green, and Year 4 is coded in red. The deck of playing cards is colour coordinated to match and features the full times table number sentence.
How to use tackling tables
To play, the quiz leader sorts the right coloured cards from the deck. Initially those will be the blue cards, but as kids progress, green and red are added. The quiz leader can be a teacher, parent, or fellow student.
The quiz leader selects a card and conceals the answer. If a student answers correctly in three seconds, the player receives the card. If the child gets the answer wrong or doesn’t know, the quiz leader shows the answer and places the card at the bottom of the deck. At the end of the game, the cards that are left with the quiz leader lets the teacher or parent and child know which times tables still need to be learned or practised for instant recall.
The Class Set comes with a chart, 10 decks of cards, guide, and a reliable baseline assessment method to help teachers measure and track each child’s progress. The Student Set includes a chart, deck of playing cards and guide, and is ideal for home learning.
Get more out of tackling tables:
- Introduce division to the game as soon as possible. The sooner children understand the full number relationship, the better.
- Practise is key – playing for 5-10 minutes a day makes a big difference!
- The colour-coded charts and cards make it easy for children to visualise what they need to learn. When they get to Year 4, they only have 25 red cards to go.
About the Authors
Margi and Dennis Brown are experienced maths teachers and tutors and creators of the successful tacklingtables method. Watch their Learning Resources YouTube playlist to learn more about how to teach multiplication to your child.
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