Multiplication Tables

The importance of times tables knowledge

Knowing times tables facts is important to children's mathematics education. Children who are secure in their times tables knowledge are able to get to grips with trickier tasks straight away and move deeper into reasoning and problem solving activities. Without a good understanding of multiplication and division facts, children can struggle when it comes to working with fractions and decimals. 

 

A child who knows their times tables will be able to recall any of the multiples of a time table out of order within three seconds, as well as the corresponding division facts. In school, we regularly spend time learning times tables, but a child will be much more successful if they practise outside of school, either independently or alongside parents/ carers and siblings.

 

Times tables vocabulary

Below are some words that might be used when practising and applying multiplication and division:

multiply         divide          prime          product          once          lots of          repeated addition          factors          array          double          multiple          sets of          remainder          halve