Which times tables to teach first

There is a defensible order to the multiplication tables, and it is not one to twelve. This guide explains the order the Multiplication Pack uses, and why it is one good order rather than the only one.

The anchors-first argument

Start with 2s, 5s and 10s, because each has a pattern a child can see: the 2s are doubling, the 5s end in 5 or 0, and the 10s add a zero. A child who can see the pattern has a way in, and the confidence from three tables that mostly take care of themselves is what the harder tables lean on.

Why the hard middle is last

The 6s, 7s, 8s and 9s have no clean pattern, so they are the real test of recall and are best met once the patterned tables are solid. Leaving them last is not neglecting them — it is giving them the most review, not the least. They are the tables where the facts genuinely have to be built, and they deserve the most attention, which is exactly why they come after the foundations.

The order this site uses

2, 5, 10 first. Then 3s and 4s, with 4s taught as double 2s. Then 11s, which are nearly free because the answer repeats the number up to nine. Then the hard middle of 6, 7, 8 and 9, taught together. Then 12s, mixed facts, and the blank chart to check the lot.

Other orders exist

Some teachers introduce 3s before the 5s, or teach 11s and 12s differently, and there are good reasons for those choices. The anchors-first order is common and defensible, but it is not the only defensible one. If a school teaches a particular order, matching it matters more than matching this site — consistency with what a child is also taught at school is what counts.

The blank chart is the test

The filled 12x12 chart is the answer sheet; the blank one is the practice. Fill a row to check one table, and the whole chart to check the lot. A table that fills in from memory is a table that has been learned.