Step by step
- 2 digits by 1. Multiply the ones, carry, then multiply the tens.
- 3 and 4 digits by 1. The same steps across more columns.
- 2 digits by 2. Two partial products, one for the ones and one for the tens, then add them.
- 3 digits by 2. Bigger numbers, the same method.
Times tables first
Long multiplication goes smoothly once the facts are automatic. If they are not yet, practise with the times tables worksheets alongside.Curriculum links in England
- Year 3Pupils multiply two-digit numbers by one-digit numbers, moving from mental to formal written methods.
- Year 4Two- and three-digit numbers are multiplied by a one-digit number using a formal written layout.
- Year 5Numbers with up to four digits are multiplied by one- or two-digit numbers, including long multiplication for two-digit numbers.
- Year 6Long multiplication extends to numbers with up to four digits multiplied by a two-digit number.
English schools call the one-digit layout short multiplication and keep “long multiplication” for two-digit multipliers, which the curriculum introduces in Year 5. Many schools teach the grid method first in Year 3 or 4, splitting 47 × 6 into 40 × 6 and 7 × 6, before the compact column layout, so check your calculation policy for when each comes in.
The largest problems here, three digits by two digits, are Year 5 work. The four-digit by two-digit problems of Year 6 aren’t included.
Summarised in our own words from the National Curriculum in England: mathematics programmes of study (DfE).
