Learning the tables in steps
- 2, 5 and 10. Counting in twos, fives and tens makes these the easiest to start with.
- 3, 4 and 8. The 4s are double the 2s, and the 8s are double the 4s.
- 6, 7 and 9. The trickiest facts; most children learn them last.
- All tables 2 to 12. Mixed practice once each table is secure.
Facts, missing factors and division
Knowing 7 × 8 = 56 also means knowing 8 × 7, 56 ÷ 7 and 56 ÷ 8. Mixing the three kinds of problem helps children see a times table as a family of facts, not a list to recite, and makes division much easier later on.
Provincial curriculum links
- ON Grade 3Multiplication as rows and columns, with the × 2, × 5 and × 10 facts and related division facts.
- ON Grade 4–5Facts from 1 × 1 to 10 × 10 in Grade 4, and from 0 × 0 to 12 × 12 in Grade 5.
- BC Grade 3Multiplication as equal groups, arrays and repeated addition; memorizing facts isn’t intended yet.
- BC Grade 4–5Recall of the 2s, 5s and 10s by the end of Grade 4, and many more facts, such as the 3s and 4s, by the end of Grade 5.
The two provinces set quite different targets. Ontario expects every fact to 12 × 12 by Grade 5, while BC asks for a smaller set and puts understanding ahead of memorization. The order on this page, starting with the 2, 5 and 10 tables, suits both.
In both provinces multiplication and division are introduced together, so sheets that mix missing factors and division facts match what students see in class. For BC Grade 3, use arrays drawn on grid paper first, and keep timed sheets for later grades.
Summarized in our own words from Ontario’s overview of The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1–8: Mathematics (2020) and the BC Mathematics curriculum (Grades 3–5).
