Tables are the absolute backbone of the maths curriculum and have to be tackled daily. Our job is to make this work as easy and stress-free as possible. And we can!
Click on my favourite online free tables games below:
TABLES GAMES SITE it is important to SCROLL DOWN to the timed games BELOW the blue picture on the left.
This won’t work on iPads or iPhones, so you may need to pay £2.49 for this Squeebles Tables app from the iTunes store.
Every single school day, at a time that suits your child, he or she should do 2 or 3 two minute speed tests. Begin with the tables they know the best at first. They will soon be whizzing through them.
Next, write down a new table for them in full from 1x through to 12x, like this on a piece of paper:
1 x 4 = 4
2 x 4 = 8
3 x 4 = 12 etc
If you have bookmarked the site at the top of your screen, it is so easy for your child to click on the tab and start independently, the moment you all arrive home from school. At first they will need to refer to your cheat-sheet, but it won’t be for long. After the first couple of 2 minute tests it tends to be pushed to one side. By the following day, it is almost done. By day 3 the table has been learnt!
If you dare, challenge your child to a race. My best time is 73 correct answers in the two minutes, but my older son is quicker on the mouse and he can do 81. A good starting point is around 30 per minute, but on day three or four, they should aim to hit 45 or more.
We can all spare 5 minutes a day (with weekends off) and the results will set your child up as a mathematician for life. Please do it – as a teacher, it is so frustrating to watch a bright child be held back by a feeble grasp of tables facts.