Multiplication Tables
Help your child to learn to use the patterns in the tables. Help them to use the table facts they remember easily to get to those which are harder:
When they know the 2 times, 5 times, 10 times and 3 times tables, they can quickly reach the others and learn them:
for example
“two sevens are 14, so four sevens will be twice 14”
2x7 = 14 so 4x7 will be twice 14
“five fours (four fives) are twenty – 5x4 and 4x5 = 20 – seven fours are 8 more, that is 28”
Helping your child in Year 3 or Year 4 (Classes 1 to 6 - ages 7 to 9)
In these years your child is likely to learn to:
understand and use numbers to 1000
know all the addition and subtraction facts to 20 e.g. 5+7 = 12 or 18-3 = 15
work out sums such as 43+28 and 64-21 and later 64-38 in their head
extend mental methods to work out sums like 145+283 and 365-192 on paper
know the 2, 5 and 10 times tables, and later tables 3 and 4
multiply by 10 and 100
multiply and divide numbers up to 100 by 2,3,4,5,10 and understand remainders
begin to understand and use simple fractions such as
begin to understand decimals through their use in money and measurement, e.g. £3.47 or 5.19m
tell the time to the nearest minute
recognise and use properties of shapes such as symmetry, right angle, lengths
use and interpret simple graphs
The really important things in these years are:
For children to use the facts they know to work out new answers. For example:
There are many ways to work out 43+28 in your head. One way is to add 40+20 to get 60, then add on the 3 and 8. Another is to add 20 to 43 to get 63, move on to 7 to 70 and a final 1 to get the answer 71.
Similarly, a child might do 64-38 by counting on from 38
To work out 5x13, say “I know 5x10 is 50 and 5x3 is 15, so the answer is 65.”
Helping your child in Year 5 or Year 6 (classes 7 to 12 - ages 9 to 11)
In these years, your child is likely to be working on:
tables up to 10x10, and using what they know to help multiply and divide bigger numbers in their head and on paper
understanding decimals (for instance that 1.07 is one and seven hundredths) and using them, particularly in measurement
addition, subtraction, multiplication and division with decimals, often in measurement or money
how and when to use a calculator; understanding the answers they get and checking that they make sense
simple problems about ratio, such as “you need 2 eggs, 300ml milk and 240g flour to make pancakes for 4 people. What do you need for 6?”
beginning to understand simple percentages, for instance that 10% of £25 is £2.50
how to estimate answers, for instance that the cost of 29 calculators at £3.95 each will be roughly 30x£4 = £120
measuring angles with a protractor
working out the areas of simple shapes like rectangles and triangles
collecting numerical information and putting it into tables, graphs and charts
The really important things in these years are for children:
1. To grow in confidence in sorting out what to do and how to do it, when they are faced with a problem
2. To begin to see connections, for instance that:
addition ‘reverses’ subtraction, or multiplication ‘undoes’ division
fractions, decimals, ratios and percentages are just different ways of saying the same thing
3. To have many opportunities to use maths at home, at the shops, on trips and visits and to see numbers and shape, and measurement and graphs at work in the world around them
Multiplication Tables
Help your child to learn to use the patterns in the tables. Help them to use the table facts they remember easily to get to those which are harder:
you can always say it the other way round – three eights are 24, so are eight threes
3x8 = 8x3
children usually find facts like six sixes (6x6)= 36, seven sevens (7x7) = 49 are easily learnt by their sound. Use them to reach others – for instance eight sixes will be six sixes and two more sixes: 8x6 will be 6x6 and 2x6: 36 +12 is 48, or eight sevens will be seven more than 49
once they know the 2 times, 5 times, 10 times and 3 times tables, they can quickly reach the others and learn them: for example