If someone wakes you up in the middle of the night and asks, âWhatâs eight times seven?â or âWhatâs nine times six?â and you instantly respond with 56 and 54, youâve likely memorised your multiplication tables well.
In many countries, however, even simpler multiplication facts donât always come easily to students. In the UK, for example, the national curriculum requires children to know their times tables (including 11s and 12s) by the age of nine. In practice, even 11-year-olds often struggle with multiplication beyond 10 and frequently rely on calculators in high school rather than calculating mentally.
Extensive experience working with preschoolers and young primary students shows that successful mastery of multiplication should start early (around ages 4-5), progress from simple to complex, and use learning materials tailored to each child’s preferred learning style. Most importantly, it should be fun!
Step by Step: From Simple to Complex
To master multiplication, children need to learn the multiplication columns for 1 through 10. Each column contains 10 equations, meaning they need to memorise 100 in total. While traditional rote learning is one way to achieve this, there are many other effective strategies.
Before jumping into memorisation and problem-solving, children should first develop foundational skills. Activities like sorting socks and shoes into pairs, organising buttons by colour and size, or arranging dominoes or coins in rows of 10, 2, or 3 can all help.
You can decorate a childâs room with a calendar featuring repeating patterns. These patterns can include cars, dinosaurs, or butterflies. Choose whatever matches their interests. When drawing together, they leave handprints on paper and count the fingers. Fold and unfold paper, counting the sections it divides into.
Learning Through Senses: Seeing, Hearing, Touching
We absorb information about the world through our senses, but each person has a dominant way of learning. Some children learn best by seeing (visual learners). Others learn best by listening (auditory learners). Some learn through movement and touch (kinaesthetic learners). Understanding a childâs learning style is essential for teaching multiplication effectively.
For example, as an auditory learner, I found it easy to memorise the multiplication table just by repeating it to myself. But my son, a visual learner, preferred looking at a multiplication chart and using flashcards.
- For visual learners, who absorb information best through images, a multiplication chart should be placed in a visible spot. This helps them in their room. The font should be large and engaging. A great resource is the â100 Chart.â It helps children learn to count confidently by twos, threes, fours, fives, and tens. This practice provides a strong foundation for multiplication. By age six, you can add a full multiplication chart next to it.
- For auditory learners, who learn best by hearing, multiplication tables should be set to music. There are several excellent resources available, such as Iâm the Best at Counting or Musical Mathematics. Singing multiplication facts isnât just beneficial for auditory learnersâit also enhances concentration, stimulates thinking, and boosts emotions.
- For unaesthetic learners, who learn through movement and manipulation, hands-on activities are key. Use coins, dominoes, buttons, or multiplication flashcards that they can physically move. Encourage them to run to a chart to check their answers. Incorporate body parts into countingâhow many eyes, hands, and fingers are there? Count how many fingers are in the whole group when friends or family visit.
Fun Games for Learning Multiplication
Counting Fingers
Ask children to hold up one finger each and count together up to 20âor even 100 if there are many children. Then, have them hold up two fingers, then three. Kids especially love counting in fives (“High five!”), and tens because itâs so easy.
Secret Agent
When my son was 5 years old, we invented this game while cycling to school. The journey was long, so we played âspies.â I was the “enemy,” and he was the “spy.” I would start a sequence like âtwo, four, six, eightâŚâ. He had to crack the code by identifying the multiplication pattern. If he got it right, we swapped roles. If not, I gave him a new sequence. After months of playing, he never struggled with multiplication again.
Multiplication Bingo
Making a multiplication bingo game is simple. You’ll need cardboard, a marker, and a ruler (or a computer and printer). Create grids for each multiplication table (1x, 2x, 3x, etc.), writing multiplication problems (e.g., 2×1) in each square. On cards of different colours, write the answers and cut them out.
Each player gets a grid, and the caller announces a problem (e.g., “2 times 1”). Players cover the corresponding square with a token if they have that problem on their grid. The first player to fill their grid wins!
For a simplified version, buy ready-made flashcards and write answers on paper for children to match.
SNAP!
This fast-paced card game reinforces multiplication facts. Each card contains either a multiplication problem or an answer. Players take turns drawing cards and placing them face-up. If a multiplication problem and its correct answer appear together (e.g., 2×2 and 4), or if two identical problems or answers match, the first player to shout “SNAP!” wins the pile. The player with the most cards at the end wins.
The Endless Game
This game works like the classic âWarâ card game but with multiplication. Shuffle multiplication flashcards and deal them evenly. Players, at the same time, reveal a card (e.g., 2×2, 4×2, 7×7). The highest product wins the round. If thereâs a tie (e.g., 2×2 and 4×1), players place another card on top to break the tie. The player with the most cards at the end wins.
Finger Multiplication
This game, from Exciting Multiplication, is a hit among young learners. Two players stand facing each other with hands behind their backs. The leader counts “One, two, threeâfingers!” and both players show a number of fingers (from 0 to 4). They must quickly calculate the product of the two numbers and shout the answer. The first to answer correctly earns a letter in the word âFINGERS.â The game continues until one player spells out the full word.
A variation from Lynette Longâs book, Vanishing Fingers, adds an extra challenge. If a player gives the wrong answer, they lose a letter.
Whoâs Faster?
This game is best played with two people and a deck of playing cards. Remove all face cards and jokers, keeping only number cards. Players take turns flipping over two cards and multiplying them. The first to shout the correct answer wins the round and keeps the cards. The player with the most cards at the end wins.
Post-it Multiplication
Sticky notes make multiplication practice interactive. Take a large board or sheet of cardboard and three sets of different-coloured sticky notes.
- On one set, write 1x, 2x, 3x, etc.
- On another set, write 1=, 2=, 3=, etc.
- Leave the third set blank for children to write answers.
Children create multiplication equations by pairing the first two sets. Then they write the correct answer on the blank sticky notes.
A Playful Approach to Learning
After trying all these methods with preschoolers, Iâve found that no single approach works for everyone. However, children respond best to interactive games that involve movement, counting, and competition. Sorting objects and arranging them in rows should start as early as ages 3-4. Children can also learn to count by twos, fives, and tens at this age. Games like lotto and the spy game make practising multiplication both effective and fun.
How did you learn multiplication table?
Have you got any other games that I missed?