How to Make Times Tables Fun

Many elementary students will find that learning multiplication times tables is an arduous task, especially if mathematics is not their strongest subject. Whether you are a parent or a teacher trying to help your child or student learn these essential tables, there is a way to make it less painful and even enjoyable to practice and learn the time tables. The key to doing so is transforming the act of learning the time tables from a tedious requirement to an enjoyable exercise, something that is easily done by turning the process into a game.

Instructions

1

Create flashcards. Write out each of the complete time tables, zero through 12, on a separate flashcard. Write the corresponding answer on the back of each flashcard.

2

Establish a reward system. Base the reward system on increments, such as a reward for when the child gets 25 correct in 10 minutes or 30 correct in 7 minutes. The more cards the student answers correctly, the greater the reward. Rewards can start as simple as a piece of candy and then progress to something more weighty, such as a meal at his favorite restaurant.

3

Begin a times table racing game. Set a timer for your desired amount of time, and tell the child what his goal is regarding the correct number of cards answered by the time the timer rings.

4

Sit down facing your student. Hold up each card and have him say aloud the correct answer for each times table card. Put each card that the student gets right in one pile, and the ones he doesn't answer correctly in another pile.

5

When the timer buzzes, count how many he got right and write it down on your scoreboard, which can be a sheet of paper. Add the ones that he got wrong to the pile you haven't gone through yet. Award the child accordingly.

6

Continue the game for as long as desired. Set the requirements higher each time you play, so that the student must get more correct in a shorter amount of time.