When it comes to times tables, speed AND accuracy are important – the more facts your child remembers, the easier it is for them to do harder calculations.

Short bursts of daily practise are more effective than spending hours once a week. And this is where you come in. For your child to be fully motivated and for them to get the best out of the practice, they need your help. Without your praise and your reminders, without you sitting down next to them or checking their work, practising times tables will not feel important to your child.

 Below are some ways for your child to practise their times tables.

1. Read the times tables out loud – you will find a link below to download all the times tables written out from the 3s up to the 12s. Together with your child, read the times tables that we are focusing on that week. Do it a second time round but this time your child should be trying to say them without reading them from the page.

2. Scatter tables – you will find a link below to download Scatter Tables. To use them, you call out a question from the times table you are focusing on and your child should point to the answer on the page. For example, if you are concentrating on the 5 times table, then find the Scatter Table for the 5s and call out questions like, “9 times 5” (your child points to 45), “6 times 5” (your child points to 30) or “5 times 12” (your child points to 60).

3. Write tables on a piece of paper – Your child should write down the times tables being focused on that week. Any piece of paper will do.

4. Play online – Your child should have a login for ttrockstars.com from their class teacher. Then they should play for a short while until they are successfully answering the questions quickly. Let your child’s teacher know if you have difficulty accessing the internet or difficulty getting on to ttrockstars.com