What order should kids learn times tables in?

A common order is 10, 2, 5, then 11, 3, 4, 9, and finally 6, 7, 8, and 12. The early tables follow easy patterns, and each one learned also fills in a fact of every other table.

What grade learns the times tables?

Multiplication is usually introduced in second or third grade, and fluency with facts up to 10 × 10 is a common third-grade goal. Many programs extend to 12 × 12 in fourth grade.

How many facts do children really need to memorize?

Fewer than it looks. Because 3 × 7 is the same as 7 × 3, the 12 × 12 grid has 78 distinct facts, and the 0, 1, 2, 5, 10, and 11 tables follow simple rules. The hardest group is only a couple of dozen facts.

Is skip counting a good way to learn times tables?

It is a good first step for understanding, but it is slow for recall. Once a child can skip count a table, practice the facts in mixed order so each answer is remembered rather than counted to.

How to Learn the Times Tables: An Order and Strategies That Work

Learning the times tables is mostly a matter of order and practice. Taught from 1 to 12 in sequence, they feel like 144 separate facts. Taught in the right order, with a strategy for each table, most of those facts turn out to be ones the child already knows.

Understand it first

Before memorizing, children should know what multiplication means: equal groups. Four bags with three apples each is 4 × 3. Arrays (rows of dots or stickers) make this visible, and they also show why 4 × 3 and 3 × 4 give the same answer: turn the array on its side.

That one idea, that the order of the factors does not matter, halves the work. Every table you learn fills in a fact in every other table.

A good order

× 10: put a zero on the end. 7 × 10 = 70.
× 2: double the number. 8 × 2 = 16.
× 5: half of × 10. 6 × 5 is half of 60, which is 30. Answers always end in 0 or 5.
× 11 (up to 9): repeat the digit. 4 × 11 = 44.
× 3: double the number, then add one more. 7 × 3 = 14 + 7 = 21.
× 4: double, then double again. 6 × 4 → 12 → 24.
× 9: ten times, minus once. 9 × 7 = 70 − 7 = 63. Up to 9 × 10, the digits of the answer add up to 9 (6 + 3).
× 6: five times, plus once more. 6 × 7 = 35 + 7 = 42.
× 8: double three times. 8 × 6 → 12 → 24 → 48.
× 7 and × 12: by now only a handful of facts are new. For × 12, use ten times plus twice: 12 × 6 = 60 + 12 = 72.

By the time a child reaches the 7 table, nearly every fact in it has already come up in another table: 7 × 2 in the twos, 7 × 8 in the eights, and so on. Only 7 × 7 is new, plus 7 × 12, which comes with the 12 table.

From counting to remembering

Strategies are a bridge, not the destination. The goal is for 7 × 8 to bring 56 to mind without working it out. Three habits help:

Mix the order. A table practiced in order (2, 4, 6, 8...) can be answered by counting along. Mixed order makes each fact stand alone. Every times table sheet here deals the facts from × 0 to × 12 in random order for that reason.
Practice little and often. Five minutes a day beats a long weekly session.
Check right away. Mark the page with the answer key as soon as it is done, and practice the facts that were wrong the next day.

The tricky facts

Most children end up with a short list of facts that will not stick. 6 × 7, 6 × 8, 7 × 8, and 8 × 8 are common ones. Give these extra attention with a memorable hook: "5, 6, 7, 8: 56 = 7 × 8" is one many children remember.

Once each table is secure on its own, a page of mixed facts from several tables shows which facts are truly automatic.

Division comes along too

Every multiplication fact is also two division facts: 7 × 8 = 56 means 56 ÷ 8 = 7 and 56 ÷ 7 = 8. Once the times tables are known, practicing division facts goes quickly, and it reinforces the multiplication facts at the same time.

Questions

What order should kids learn times tables in?: A common order is 10, 2, 5, then 11, 3, 4, 9, and finally 6, 7, 8, and 12. The early tables follow easy patterns, and each one learned also fills in a fact of every other table.
What grade learns the times tables?: Multiplication is usually introduced in second or third grade, and fluency with facts up to 10 × 10 is a common third-grade goal. Many programs extend to 12 × 12 in fourth grade.
How many facts do children really need to memorize?: Fewer than it looks. Because 3 × 7 is the same as 7 × 3, the 12 × 12 grid has 78 distinct facts, and the 0, 1, 2, 5, 10, and 11 tables follow simple rules. The hardest group is only a couple of dozen facts.
Is skip counting a good way to learn times tables?: It is a good first step for understanding, but it is slow for recall. Once a child can skip count a table, practice the facts in mixed order so each answer is remembered rather than counted to.

Worksheets for this guide

2 times table

9 times table

Multiplication facts 0–12