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.
NCF and NCERT links
- Class 2The NCF-FS (C-8.7) has children solving multiplication problems up to 99 by repeated adding.
- Class 3NIPUN Bharat’s Class 3 target includes solving simple multiplication problems.
- Classes 3–5Knowing the tables quickly, and using them for division, underpins the written methods of the Preparatory Stage.
Many Indian children chant tables aloud at home and in class (pahade in Hindi). Chanting builds recall, and these sheets check whether children can use a fact out of order, which chanting alone does not.
Some schools ask children to learn tables beyond 12. This maker stops at 12, so for higher tables use the Mixed setting for the facts children already know. Start with the 2, 5 and 10 tables, which children can link to counting coins in twos, fives and tens.
Summarised in our own words from the National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCERT, 2022) and the NIPUN Bharat guidelines (Ministry of Education, 2021).
