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Times Tables Practice

Times are tough, but not impossible!

Click here to go straight to low-frills, low-stress practice.

Memorizing over a hundred facts of any kind is a formidable task for most humans. The first strategy to make the task easier is to break it down into smaller parts.

Studying 3 facts until they are mastered, then studying 3 more, then putting all six together, is a much more effective strategy than looking at 10 facts and going over them again and again.

In fact, looking at something again and again is not a particularly effective way of learning anything. Recalling the facts without looking at them, retrieving the information from one's own mind, relating it to other things you already know -- what we call "processing" the information -- is far more effective.

The second general principle of committing a large quantity of information is that it is easier to remember what we understand and can associate with things that we already know. The sequence of quizzes here are based on the sequence in Dr. Chinn's book, Tools for the Times tables, now available in the U.S. (The sequence is the same, but Dr. Chinn's book and the workbook focus on concept development and visual-kinesthetic activities , rather than rote practice writing the answers!). More information and sample chapters can be found by clicking here.

These quizzes do not deal with two other important processess in learning mathematics:

1. making the conceptual transition from concrete to abstract, and
2. "talking through" that process so that math is understood and can be expressed verbally.

For people who have more trouble with symbols -- people with dyslexia or other specific language learning difficulties -- these processes can't be counted on to happen 'naturally.' The article Mathematics and Dyslexia from the International Dyslexia Association describes stages of understanding -- concrete (using manipulatives and real objects), pictorial (using p,m ictures of real objects), and symbolic/abstract (numbers and operation symbols, and understanding what 'subtraction' and 'multiplication' are). While it is extremely tempting to take a 'short cut' around language, as long as a student can get the right answers, this often means a student does not truly internalize the understanding and cannot generalize what seems to have been mastered. Conversely, if a student is naturally verbal but is challenged with concepts involving space and distance, it would be wise to include more concrete manipulation to ensure that this aspect of the concept is fully understood and internalized. Again, Tools for the Times Tables and the accompanying workbook have many strategies for tackling these challenges.

Enough Theory Already! On To The Facts!!!

The "test" terminology is intentional. Nobody but you needs to know how you do on these; maybe that nasty four letter word on the top of a page will get a little less scary if you've seen it in friendlier surroundings. Also, there will be annoying details involved in figuring out how to make this thing work on the computer -- so you should have the easiest quizzes while you're learning how to do it.

Fill In The Chart

One way to practice the times tables is to fill in the times tables chart with missing numbers, starting with the easy tables and getting harder. Here's your chance to do that!

1. The Chart - with all the numbers filled in
2. Zeroes
3. Zeroes and ones
4. Zeroes, ones and tens
5. Zeroes, ones, tens and twos
6. Zeros, ones, tens, twos and fives
7. Zeroes, ones, tens, twos, fives and fours
8. Zeroes, ones, tens, twos, fives, fours, and nines
9. Zeroes, ones, tens, twos, fives, fours, nines and threes
10. Zeroes, ones, tens, twos, fives, fours, nines, threes and sixes
11. Zeroes, ones, tens, twos, fives, fours, nines, threes, sixes and sevens
12. EVERYTHING.

1. STAGE ONE
   1. Level One Quiz: The Zero Times Tables.
   2. Level Two Quiz: The Ones Times Tables.
   3. Level Three Quiz: Ones and Zeroes together.
   4. Level Four Quiz: Tens Times Tables.
   5. Level Five Quiz: Ones and Zeroes and Tens.
   6. Stage One Test: Ones and Zeroes and Tens.
2. STAGE TWO
   1. Level One Practice: Twos in order
   2. Level One Quiz: Twos
   3. Level Two Quiz: Twos and Stage One
   4. Level Three Quiz: Fives
   5. Level Four Quiz: Fives and Twos and Stage One
   6. Level Five Practice: Fours in order
   7. Level Five Quiz: Fours
   8. Level Six Quiz: Fours, Fives, Twos and Stage One
   9. Stage Two Test: 0,1,2,4,5 & 10s
3. STAGE THREE
   1. Level One Practice: Nines in order (first half)
   2. Level One Quiz: Nines (first half)
   3. Level TwoPractice: Nines (second half)
   4. Level Two Quiz: Nines (second half)
   5. Level Three Practice: Nines (all of them) in order
   6. Level Three Practice: Nines (all of them)
   7. Level Three Quiz: Nines and Stages One and Two
   8. Level Four Quiz: Threes (first half) in order
   9. Level Four Quiz: Threes (first half - scrambled)
   10. Level Five Quiz: Threes (second half) in order
   11. Level Five Quiz: Threes (second half) scrambled
   12. Level Six Quiz: Threes (all of them)
   13. Stage Three Test: 0,1,2,3,4,5,9 & 10s
4. Stage Four
   1. Level One Practice: Sixes (first half) in order
   2. Level One Quiz: Sixes (first half) scrambled
   3. Level Two Practice: Sixes (second half) in order
   4. Level Two Quiz: Sixes (second half) scrambled
   5. Level Three Quiz: all the sixes
   6. Stage Four Test: Sixes and Stages One, Two, Three and Four
5. Stage Five
   1. Level One Practice: Sevens (first half - in order)
   2. Level One Quiz: Sevens (first half - scrambled)
   3. Level Two Practice: Sevens (second half - in order)
   4. Level Two Quiz: Sevens (second half - scrambled)
   5. Level Three Quiz: all the sevens
   6. Stage Five Test: Sevens and the rest of them
6. Stage Six
   1. Level One Practice: Eights (first half - in order)
   2. Level One Quiz: Eights (first half - scrambled)
   3. Level Two Practice: Eights (second half - in order)
   4. Level Two Quiz: Eights (second half - scrambled)
   5. Level Three Quiz: all the eights
7. MASTERY TEST