How to teach times tables without tears
A four week plan to take a child from shaky to fluent on all tables up to twelve, using short daily sessions and games.
February 10, 2026 · 8 min read
Times tables are the single highest leverage piece of primary maths. A child who knows them cold flies through long multiplication, division, fractions and percentages. A child who does not, struggles with all of it.
The order that works
Do not march through 1 to 12 in order. Teach in this sequence: 2, 10, 5, 4, 3, 8, 6, 9, 7, 11, 12. Each new table leans on tables already learned, and the trickiest ones come last when confidence is high.
Four week plan
- Week 1: tables 2, 10, 5, 4.
- Week 2: add tables 3 and 8.
- Week 3: add tables 6 and 9.
- Week 4: add tables 7, 11, 12 and mixed review.
Daily session: five minutes of recall, five minutes of a game. That is enough.
Games that beat flashcards
- Roll two dice and multiply. Race a sibling.
- Snap, but with multiplication pairs.
- Ten questions in a minute, against yesterday's score.
Pair the games with our spaced repetition guide for the trickier facts, and you will be amazed how fast it sticks. Once they are fluent, long division becomes far less scary, see our long division walkthrough.