WorksheetsAbout this worksheet
This prints whole tables, each from "times 1" to "times 10". Choose Filled for a chart to stick near the study table, Blank to test a table from memory, or Half filled as a gentle middle step. Up to twelve tables fit on one sheet.
Tables are learnt by saying, writing and using them. Say a table aloud on the way to school, write it once on a blank sheet in the evening, and use it in mixed questions on the multiplication sheet at the weekend.
What this skill is
A times table is a list of equal jumps: the 7 table is 7, 14, 21 and so on. Knowing tables by heart is not the whole of maths, but almost everything after class 3 leans on it: division, fractions, HCF and LCM, area, percentages. A child who has to work out 7 × 8 each time has no attention left for the new idea being taught.
A worked example
A hard fact can be built from two easy ones. Take 7 × 6. Seven is 5 and 2, so:
- 5 × 6 = 30
- 2 × 6 = 12
- 30 + 12 = 42
So 7 × 6 = 42. The order does not matter either: 7 × 6 and 6 × 7 are the same, which means half of every table is already known from the smaller tables.
Tips for parents and teachers
- Learn one new table at a time and keep revising the old ones.
- Show the patterns: the 5 table ends in 5 or 0; in the 9 table the digits of each answer add up to 9, up to 9 times 10.
- Once a table is known forwards, ask it out of order. That is the real test.
How to use this sheet at home and in class
- Stick a "Filled" chart of this week's table where the child will see it daily: beside the mirror, on the fridge, inside the cupboard door.
- After three or four days print the same table "Half filled", and at the end of the week "Blank". Keep the blank sheets; they show progress over a term.
- In class: a blank sheet of two or three tables makes a five minute test that is easy to mark with the filled sheet beside you.
Mistakes to watch for
- Learning a table as a song that only works from the start. Ask single facts in any order as soon as the table is known forwards.
- Mixing up near neighbours: 6 × 7 = 42, 7 × 8 = 56, 6 × 8 = 48, 7 × 7 = 49. Put these four on a small card and ask them often.
- Moving to a new table too soon. The old table fades in a week if it is not revised.
What to try next
- Multiplication worksheets: table facts in mixed order.
- Number sequences worksheets: skip counting, the ground under every table.
- Division worksheets: tables read backwards.
Ready settings by class
Common questions
How do I print a table chart for the wall?
Choose the tables, set Sheet to "Filled, to learn from" and press Print. In the print window choose A4 paper.