“Unfortunately, there is no magic formula for learning your multiplication tables in 5 minutes!” laughs François Chatriant*, a middle school mathematics teacher. The only method that really works, according to the specialist, is to “repeat the calculations regularly in order to train the brain. Depending on the students, different techniques can help: reading aloud, writing or watching.“
“At the age when the student learns his multiplication tables, he is not yet able to work “for himself“, adds the mathematics teacher. He works to please his parents or the teacher; It therefore seems important to me to reward the student when he manages to retain a table, especially if he has made a particularly significant effort.“
Is your child having trouble remembering his multiplication tables? In addition to regularly repeating the calculations, here are some tips that can possibly resolve the situation…
Songs to learn all the multiplication tables
Singing to remember your multiplication tables is a trick as old as time – or almost! On YouTube, there are a host of videos that set the multiplication tables to music from 1 x 1 to 10 x 10. All you have to do is find the one that best suits the student…
Here are our favorite music videos:
- Nursery rhymes for children – The Table of 2 (learn the multiplication tables) – YourKid TV. The rhythm is very simple and the calculations are displayed on the screen during the song to best help the students. A basic that goes from the table of 1 to the table of 9. The entire playlist is available here.
- Multiplication tables by 2, 3 and 4 in songs for children – Titounis – World of Titounis. This video allows students to learn the multiplication tables of 2, 3 and 4. The song is catchy, the characters are friendly, you want to get involved and sing with your child!
- Learn the table of 1 – Les Titischools. Learn your multiplication tables with puppets and to a rock rhythm, why not, after all? Hilarious, these videos will undoubtedly help students remember their tables, from 1 x 1 to 12 x 12. The full playlist is available here. Please note: videos with a yellow label are aimed at students from Belgium and Switzerland, you must choose the videos which display a green label for France!
Games to learn multiplication tables while having fun
From a sheet of cardboard, cut out 16 identical rectangles. On the back of each card, write a calculation: 2 x 8, 6 x 7, 8 x 8, 9 x 9… Choose (of course) the calculations with which your child has the most difficulty. You can possibly use colors to help: put even numbers in red, for example, or zeros in green.
On the back of the cards, write the results of the calculations. Then it’s time for a memory type game: on a large table, arrange the cards to form a 4 by 4 square, on the calculation side. The goal of the game for the student is to collect all the cards; he can only take a card from the board if he gives the correct result in the calculation. Easy and fun!
Online games to learn (and review) your multiplication tables
To easily remember your multiplication tables, there are also online games. Here are our favorites:
- iEducative. This multiple choice game allows you to review your multiplication tables from 1 x 1 to 12 x 12.
- The multiplication race. This little game asks the child to solve calculations as quickly as possible in order to move a racing car forward; each wrong answer makes the car slow down. Simple and frankly effective.
- The jumping penguin. A little penguin races with his competitors; to progress from iceberg to iceberg, he must accumulate the correct answers to the calculations. A very accessible game, which allows you to review your multiplication tables from 1 to 12.
Remember the table of 8 and the table of 9 easily using a mnemonic method
The multiplication tables by 8 and by 9 are the most difficult for children to remember. Good news: there is a simple mnemonic way to never forget them and to easily find the results of calculations in a test or exam situation.
How to remember the multiplication table by 9?
On an A4 sheet placed in vertical format (i.e.: in portrait mode), draw two columns. In the left column, write the numbers 0 to 9, from top to bottom. In the right column, write the numbers 9 to 0, from top to bottom.
The results of the multiplication table by 9 can then be read by pasting the left digit to the right digit; 9 x 1 = 09, 9 x 2 = 18, 9 x 3 = 27, etc. The only drawback of this method: it does not take 9 x 0 into account… you just have to teach the child that it makes 0!
How to remember the multiplication table by 8?
On an A4 sheet placed in vertical format (i.e.: in portrait mode), draw two columns. In the left column, write the numbers 0 to 8, from top to bottom. Warning: you must write the number 4 twice! In the right column, write the numbers from 8 to 0, from top to bottom, counting from 2 to 2. Do this twice so that you have as many numbers in the left column as in the right column.
In summary, in the left column, we have: 0 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8. In the right column, we have: 8 – 6 – 4 – 2 – 0 – 8 – 6 – 4 – 2 – 0.
The results of the multiplication by 8 table can then be read by pasting the left digit to the right digit; 8 x 1 = 08, 8 x 2 = 16, 8 x 3 = 24, etc. Here again, the child must then be taught that 8 x 0 makes 0.
*the expert’s first and last name have been changed to preserve his anonymity.
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