Multiplication Chart Teaching Guide with Easy Patterns
Many adults remember learning times tables with a stack of flashcards and a ticking timer. For a lot of children, that meant stress, not understanding. Quick recall is still the goal, but there is a gentler way to start: a multiplication chart.
A chart lets children see what multiplication is before they are asked to memorize it. Facts stop looking like random pairs of numbers and start looking like patterns that make sense. This guide shows parents and teachers how to teach with a multiplication chart, which patterns to point out first, and how to move children from the chart to knowing facts by heart.
You can use our multiplication chart on a screen, where tapping a box highlights its row and column, or print it for the desk.
Start with what multiplication means
Before looking at a chart, make sure your child knows what multiplication is. It is a quick way to add equal groups.
Put out 3 plates with 4 crackers on each one. How many crackers are there? Your child might count them all, or add 4 plus 4 plus 4. Then show them that 3 times 4 means “3 groups of 4,” and the answer is 12.
Try a few more with real objects. Once the idea makes sense, the chart becomes a map of all those groups.
How to read the chart
Show your child that the numbers across the top and down the left side are the numbers being multiplied. The answer sits where a row and a column meet.
Practice together:
- Put a finger on 3 in the left column.
- Put another finger on 4 in the top row.
- Slide both fingers until they meet. The box says 12.
Let your child find a few facts on their own. Ask them to explain how they found each one.
For a printed copy to keep on the desk, see our guide to printable multiplication table charts.
Pattern 1. The mirror
This is the most important pattern on the chart, and children love discovering it.
Ask your child to find 3 times 8. Then ask them to find 8 times 3. Both are 24. Color both boxes the same color. Try a few more pairs, like 2 times 7 and 7 times 2.
Now draw a line along the square numbers, from 1 in the top left corner to the bottom right corner. Fold the chart along that line. The two halves match, like a mirror.
This means the order of the numbers does not change the answer. It also means there are far fewer facts to learn than it looks. A 12 by 12 chart has 144 boxes, but only 78 different facts.
To check this idea, children can fill in a blank multiplication chart and see that each half matches the other.
Pattern 2. Rows that count by the same number
Each row on the chart is a skip counting pattern. Explore a few rows with your child.
- The 2s. Every answer is even and ends in 2, 4, 6, 8 or 0.
- The 5s. Every answer ends in 5 or 0.
- The 10s. Every answer is the other number with a zero on the end.
- The 11s. Up to 11 times 9, the answer is the same digit twice, like 33, 44 and 55.
- The 9s. As you go down the row, the tens digit goes up by one and the ones digit goes down by one: 9, 18, 27, 36, 45.
Ask your child to read a row out loud as a counting pattern. “Five, ten, fifteen, twenty.” Many children already know these from counting, and seeing them on the chart builds confidence.
Pattern 3. The square numbers
The boxes where a number is multiplied by itself make a diagonal line down the middle of the chart: 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100, 121, 144.
These are called square numbers. You can show why by drawing them as squares. Draw a 3 by 3 grid of dots, and there are 9 dots. Draw a 4 by 4 grid, and there are 16.
The square numbers are a helpful landmark. If your child knows 6 times 6 is 36, they can find nearby facts from there.
Pattern 4. Even and odd
Ask your child to color every even answer on the chart. They will notice that most of the chart gets colored.
That is because any number times an even number gives an even answer. Only an odd number times an odd number gives an odd answer, like 3 times 5 is 15.
This is a handy way to check an answer. If your child says 6 times 7 is 43, they can spot the mistake straight away. 6 is even, so the answer must be even.
Pattern 5. Neighbor facts
Rows and columns grow by the same amount each step. That means your child can use a fact they know to find one they do not.
Stuck on 7 times 6? Start from 7 times 5, which is 35, and add one more 7 to get 42.
Stuck on 8 times 9? Start from 8 times 10, which is 80, and take away 8 to get 72.
Neighbor facts turn “I don’t know” into “I can work it out,” which is a big step for a child’s confidence.
Warm-up games with a chart
Short games at the start of a math lesson keep the chart fresh.
Factor finder
Call out a number, like 36. Students find every box on the chart that shows it. On a 12 by 12 chart, they should find 3 times 12, 4 times 9, 6 times 6, 9 times 4 and 12 times 3.
Square number race
Students write the square numbers in order as fast as they can, then check against the chart’s diagonal.
Mystery box
Cover one box with a sticky note. Give clues. “It is in the 7s row. It is even. It is between 40 and 50.” Students work out the hidden number, 42.
Moving from the chart to memory
The chart is a starting point, not the finish line. The goal is for children to know facts quickly without looking.
Step 1. Think first, then look
When your child meets a fact, ask them to try to remember it for a few seconds before looking at the chart. Even a short try helps build memory.
Step 2. Cover what they know
As your child learns facts, cover those boxes on a printed chart with stickers. Watching the chart fill up with stickers is motivating.
Step 3. Practice one table at a time
Focus on one row each week. The times tables game lets your child pick a single table and practice it.
Step 4. Learn tricks for the hard facts
Some facts are harder than others, especially in the 6s, 7s, 8s and 9s. Our guide to times tables practice shares tricks, like doubling twice for the 4s.
Step 5. Play games
Games give children lots of practice without it feeling like work. See our list of times tables games for card, dice and online ideas.
A simple teaching plan
- Week one. Build groups with real objects, then learn to read the chart.
- Week two. Explore the mirror and the skip counting rows.
- Week three. Find square numbers and even and odd patterns.
- Week four onward. Focus on one table at a time, using neighbor facts, flashcards and games, while slowly using the chart less.
Every child moves at their own pace, so stretch any week that needs more time.
Where to find more
For more math games, from counting to multiplication, visit the math games section.
For practice matched to each grade, see the math practice for kids hub.