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.
In the MOE curriculum
- Primary 1Multiplication and division begin as ideas: multiplying within 40 and dividing within 20.
- Primary 2Tables of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10, the ÷ sign, and how multiplication and division are related.
- Primary 3Tables of 6, 7, 8 and 9, then division with remainder.
- Primary 4Factors and multiples, which rely on fluent tables.
Singapore teaches the tables in two blocks: 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 in Primary 2, then 6, 7, 8 and 9 in Primary 3. That means the 8 table in this maker’s “3, 4 and 8” set belongs to P3. The syllabus stops at the table of 10, so the 11 and 12 tables in the mixed setting are extra practice rather than a requirement.
Before memorising, children see each fact as equal groups: 4 × 3 is 4 groups of 3, drawn as four equal units in a bar model. Mental multiplication and division within the tables is listed in both years, so short daily sheets fit the syllabus well.
Summarised in our own words from the MOE Primary Mathematics Syllabus (Primary One to Six, 2021, updated October 2025).
