How many times tables do you really have to learn?
Learning multiplication tables can be very daunting for young children. To them, it may feel like there's a huge mountain ahead that they have to climb and the summit is barely visible in the clouds.
That's why we made this video. You can show it to your children when they're learning tables - it will help them realise the summit isn't that far away after all.
We have several articles and resources to help parents help their children with times tables, including the "38 Times Tables Challenge" which is a great little practice tool for young learners (there's a certificate for all who complete the challenge and it's entirely free to use!) Here are all our times tables resources on one page:
Times tables have been in the news again as the UK Government has introduced a new times tables "check" for Year 4 pupils. Starting in the 2018/2019 school year as a voluntary pilot, it will be introduced for all Year 4s in 2019/2020.
As a maths teacher, I can't stress enough how important it is for children to master their tables. When learners are able to fluently recall their tables it frees up working memory for applying maths to solve problems.
(You can read more about the importance of working memory here in our article, "Working Memory, Fluency and Practice - The Science of Learning Mathematics.)
The "to test or not to test" discussion is interesting - as a parent and ex-teacher I can view it from both sides. Here is an excellent blog article from a secondary school teacher-blogger that makes the case for the importance of times tables.
I'm Ged, Co-founder of Komodo, ex-maths teacher and dad. If you have any questions please get in touch.
About Komodo - Komodo is a fun and effective way to boost primary maths skills. Designed for 4 to 11-year-olds to use in the home, Komodo uses a little and often approach to learning maths (20 minutes, 3 to 5 times per week) that fits into the busy routine. Komodo helps users develop fluency and confidence in maths - without keeping them at the screen for long.
And now we've got Komodo English too - check it out here.
