Learning the tables in steps
- 2, 5 and 10. Counting in twos, fives and tens makes these the easiest to start with.
- 3, 4 and 8. The 4s are double the 2s, and the 8s are double the 4s.
- 6, 7 and 9. The trickiest facts; most children learn them last.
- All tables 2 to 12. Mixed practice once each table is secure.
Facts, missing factors and division
Knowing 7 × 8 = 56 also means knowing 8 × 7, 56 ÷ 7 and 56 ÷ 8. Mixing the three kinds of problem helps children see a times table as a family of facts, not a list to recite, and makes division much easier later on.
CAPS links
- Grade 2Multiplies numbers 1 to 10 by 2, 5, 3 and 4, to a total of 50, building on repeated addition.
- Grade 3Multiplies and divides by 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 to 100, and recalls the 2 and 10 times tables quickly.
- Grades 4–5Multiplies whole numbers to at least 10 × 10 as mental maths.
- Grade 6Extends mental multiplication to at least 12 × 12.
CAPS sets out which facts come when: the 2, 5, 3 and 4 tables in Grade 2, the 10 table added in Grade 3, and the rest up to 10 × 10 in the Intermediate Phase. So the 6, 7, 8 and 9 tables come in the Intermediate Phase, and the 11 and 12 tables in Grade 6.
From Grade 3, CAPS asks learners to use the link between multiplication and division as a strategy, which is why the missing factor and division problems belong with the tables.
Summarised in our own words from the DBE’s CAPS for Mathematics, Foundation Phase and Intermediate Phase Grades 4–6 (2011).
