Guide
How to teach times tables
A US sequence for parents and teachers: meaning first, then short recall rounds, then what to do when one table stays shaky.
Start with what the fact means
Before any drilling, a child should be able to show 3×4 as three groups of four, or as a rectangle three rows tall and four wide. Common Core puts this in 3rd grade: interpret products as groups of objects, then use the properties of operations as strategies. The standard's own example is knowing 8×5 and 8×2, then finding 8×7 as 40 plus 16.
Spend real time here. Arrays on graph paper, Lego bricks in rows, skip counting out loud on the stairs. A child who can rebuild a fact from a picture is not stuck when memory blanks later.
Pick an order that builds
Most teachers go 2s, 5s, and 10s first, because kids already skip count them. Then 3s and 4s, which double the 2s. Then 6s, 7s, 8s, and 9s, where the hard facts live. The 9s have a finger trick and a digit pattern. The 11s and 12s are usually last and are beyond the two one-digit products the standard asks for from memory, though most US classrooms still drill them.
Teach the turnaround early. Once 4×7 is known, 7×4 is free. That cuts the set of facts a child must actually learn roughly in half.
Then practice recall in short rounds
Once a table makes sense, the job changes. The fact has to arrive without the drawing. That takes retrieval: asking for the answer, getting it right or wrong, and asking again later. A few minutes a day beats a long session on Sunday.
FastyFacts is built for that step. A round is 5, 10, or 20 questions. Multiplication runs from 2×2 through 12×12, with division, addition, and subtraction as review. If a fact is missed, it comes back later. Facts a child already knows drop back so the round spends its time on the ones that are not solid. It works offline, has no ads in practice rounds, and is free on iOS.
Keep the clock out of it until the answers are right. Speed is the last layer, not the first.
When one table will not stick
It is usually the 7s or 8s. Go back to meaning for that table only. Build 8×7 from 8×5 and 8×2 on paper a few times. Then send the next few rounds at that table alone. In FastyFacts the fact rings show which table is weak, down to one set like the 8s, so the next rounds have a target.
Do not restart from the 2s. A child who knows the 2s through 6s does not need to prove it again to earn the 8s.
Frequently asked questions
What order should times tables be taught in?
A common US order is 2s, 5s, and 10s, then 3s and 4s, then 6s through 9s, with 11s and 12s last. The exact order matters less than teaching the turnaround facts early so the set shrinks.
What does the standard actually require?
Common Core 3.OA.C.7 asks students to fluently multiply and divide within 100 and, by the end of 3rd grade, know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers. The 10s, 11s, and 12s go past that but are still common classroom practice.
Should I use flash cards or an app?
Either works for the recall step if the missed fact comes back and the known facts step aside. Paper cards need an adult to sort the miss pile. FastyFacts does that sorting in the round and shows the result by table.
Does FastyFacts teach the meaning of multiplication?
No. Use groups, arrays, and skip counting for that. FastyFacts practices recall once the meaning is there.
Built around FastyFacts in the Math facts practice hub.