Which times tables should my child know, and by when?
Children learn their times tables over several years, starting with the 2s, 5s and 10s. This chart shows what is usually expected in each school year in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
The chart
🇦🇺 Year 2🇳🇿 Year 3🇺🇸 2nd Grade
Children learn the 2, 5 and 10 times tables, starting with skip counting, and begin to see multiplication as equal groups.
🇦🇺 Year 3🇳🇿 Year 4🇺🇸 3rd Grade
Children recall the 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 times tables and use them for division, ready to learn the rest of the tables.
🇦🇺 Year 4🇳🇿 Year 5🇺🇸 4th Grade
Children are expected to know all their times tables to 10 × 10 by heart, with the matching division facts.
🇦🇺 Year 5🇳🇿 Year 6🇺🇸 5th Grade
Children use fast times table recall for long multiplication, division and fractions, and many extend to 12 × 12.
🇦🇺 Year 6🇳🇿 Year 7🇺🇸 6th Grade
Instant recall of every fact to 12 × 12 underpins fractions, percentages, ratio and long division.
Country differences
Australia: the Australian Curriculum (v9.0) expects children to recall multiplication facts up to 10 × 10, with the matching division facts, by the end of Year 4. New Zealand: year levels run one ahead of Australia’s (New Zealand Year 4 is about Australian Year 3), so read the New Zealand column. United States: the Common Core expects children to know all products of two one-digit numbers from memory by the end of 3rd Grade (3.OA.C.7), so US children often learn the 6s, 7s and 9s a year earlier than the chart shows for Australia.
The best order to learn them
2s, 5s and 10s first (skip counting), then the 4s and 8s by doubling, the 3s, the 9s with the finger trick, then the 6s and 7s. Learn each fact with its division fact: if 6 × 7 = 42, then 42 ÷ 7 = 6. Once all the facts to 10 × 10 are automatic, the 11s and 12s are quick to add.
“Knowing” a table means instant recall
A child who counts up in sevens to find 7 × 8 knows how to work it out but has not yet learnt the fact. Recall in about three seconds frees their working memory for long multiplication, fractions and division. That is why the free Times Tables Check gives 8 seconds a question: enough to remember, not enough to count.