Help learning tables

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Kaz

Help learning tables

Post by Kaz »

I really want my son to have a quick recall of his times tables. It is something I really struggled with even though I had a Grammar school education and passed my maths O level well. I cannot keep them in my head!

My son is the same I test him and one day he knows them then 2 weeks later he has forgotten.

What works for you and yours? They don't seem to learn them at school its only given as homework. The teacher says it's too time consuming but I feel it is the root of it all.

I am going to learn them with him so we can help each other but what works best?
jah

Post by jah »

Hi Kaz

You don't say how old your son is. I have year 10 and 6 daughters, and a year 4 son. I've found that they get a lot of timed tests of times-tables in year 4.

They start by getting a whole list which is just one table; with sums repeated over and over in random order, and they are timed to do say 100 sums. They have to do them in order and can't just go down filling in all the 4x6 for example. They build up to having a mixture of all the tables in the test.

I test my son in the car randomly. The ones they've found hardest are 6 or more x 6 or more (not surprisingly perhaps); so I concentrated on these. We tried to find ways of particularly remembering these eg linking 7x6=42 to the "meaning of life" (Hitchhikers Guide); square numbers and so on.

The main thing is to have an idea of what is a sensible answer. For example, your son should know just by the fact that it's an odd number, that 15 cannot be in 2x, 4x, 6x, 8x, 10x or 12x tables. There are similar rules for several of the other tables. For example, 9x the two digit answers add up to 9. So 85 cannot be in the 9x table.

Try looking at prime numbers. If your son knows some of these, then he will not try to put them as an answer to a times-table question. 29 is not in any times-table. So 3x9 cannot equal 29 for example.

Don't be afraid to get answer by using a combination of methods. 12x =10x plus 2x. This is a good way to check an answer if you're not sure.

Look for patterns. Odd multiples of 5 ending in 5, and even multiples ending in 0 is an obvious one. So 5x5 cannot equal 20 or 30.

Practise counting on in a particular number eg 6, 12,18,24,30,36,42,48,54,60 and see how fluently you and he can do it. It is then quite easy to count on your fingers as you go, to find the 5th number in the sequence, say, and get 6x5.

Don't forget the multiplication sums are reversible. So 9x2=2x9. Use whichever table is known better.

We bought a poster with all the tables on and have put it on a wall opposite my daughter's bed. As she lies in bed she can read it. If nothing else, it helps to send her to sleep!!

Good Luck
times table advocate

Post by times table advocate »

How old is your son?
If he's Yr 5, he should be very fast up to 6 or 7 and moderately fast up to 12 .

13,14,15 are very useful for 11+ Maths because of the different questions that come up.

Some kids are better at Maths becos of the way the mind works> You can have a type of dyslexia (TO DO WITH DECIPHERING WORDS) but only it's with numbers.(Dyscalculia..I think it's called..not sure of spelling)

However,I find that practice is best. When my older boy was doing 11+,he was practising Maths everyday, sometimes papers,sometimes puzzles sometimes times tables and he was very fast.

Now, my second son has just finished his 11+ and he is much much faster at timestable recall than the older one. The older one has too many other things to do... he's good at Maths but he just isn't that quick anymore because he practises less.

We do a couple speedies every day-mixedtables between 2 and 5 for confidence and the higher ones later. It's timed and very quick and takes very little time. A short sheet of paper with about 50 times table sums twice a day.

I write this up on the way to work on the Tube. You'd be surprised how fast your child will get thru them.
Also have a challenge with Mum,or older member of family at meal times(In between main course and pudding). They absolutely love beating Mum and Dad!
kaz

Post by kaz »

Thanks so much lots of great tips! He is in year 6 so I really want this cracked by the time SATS come round and before he is off to high school.

I should say he is quite good at them if he works through them so If I ask him 7x8 he has to go through 1x8 2x8 3x8 etc its that instant recall that isn't sticking. He's definitely got my genes his dad is like a human calculator!
LoveyB

Tables

Post by LoveyB »

This site is very useful and interesting, for those children having problems with their tables.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers ... heet.shtml
big h

Post by big h »

Although we are all ok at tables in our house this one challenges even the most able. It uses the grid system but put ten numbers across the top in random order and again down the side in any order. You have two minutes to complete all the boxes. My year 5 son is given this at school regularly in maths and I think its great fun especially if you have a competitive child. His maths teacher believes that you should just KNOW the answer - NO tricks. I think this is true but hard to achieve.
Bill James

tables

Post by Bill James »

Content removed for breaking the forum rules (Rule 4)
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... .php?t=148
Holly

Times Tables

Post by Holly »

We bought a funky little cd which we listened to in the car to and from school, the songs are so catchy that when I gave my childrens' friends a lift, they all asked to listen to it (and no, they're not all weirdos!) These songs had a way of lodging themselves into the brain along with the answers to all the times tables. Worth a try.
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Post by yoyo123 »

a pack of cards is a brilliant investment!

Shuffle well and then deal 2 cards, multiply together, 1st person to get the answer gets the pair of cards, as in snap. Winner is teh one with teh most cards at teh end. Depending on teh abilities of teh people playing you can leqave on teh picture cards. If you are playing against a child, to begin with you can play so that if answer is corrct they get the cards , if not you do. Can introduce a time element as well. The game can be adapted for addition, dealing 2, 3 or 4 cards or subtraction, introducing negative numbers. Ther are loads of interesting games on the internet.

Google combination of games, multiplication etc.

This one is great!
http://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/g ... eteor.html

really good for building up immediate recall!
katel
Posts: 960
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:30 pm

Post by katel »

bribery. Works for other subjects as well. And room tidying.

seriously, while you are working on tables, work on 13, 14 and 15 as well. Incredibly useful for 11+ and beyond.
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