Master the Times Tables

Proof required

Confirm that your child has practised tables 1 to 5 daily for at least five days. Describe a simple test or quiz you gave them covering all tables 1 to 5, and confirm whether they could answer each fact without a long pause. Note any facts that still need more practice.

What gets checked

• Child has practised tables 1–5 on at least five separate days, not in one cramming session
• A parent, teacher, or carer tested the child by saying a multiplication fact aloud and the child answered without referring to a written table
• Parent or carer can name which specific facts (if any) still need more practice — a blanket 'they know it all' without any observation is not sufficient confirmation

Common mistakes

• Practising by reading the multiplication table rather than being tested on it — recognition of the written table does not build the automatic retrieval needed for exam conditions
• Doing one long session and skipping daily practice — spaced repetition over many days is far more effective than a single long session for building automatic recall in children

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• The test should involve asking the child multiplication facts in random order, not in sequence — recalling 3 × 7 after just saying 3 × 6 = 18 is much easier than recalling 3 × 7 in isolation; random ordering is the better measure of genuine recall
• A 'long pause' is more than 3–4 seconds — genuine automatic recall is nearly instant; a fact that takes 5+ seconds of visible working out is not yet automatic, even if the answer is eventually correct
• It is completely normal and expected that some facts in tables 1–5 still need more practice at this milestone — note them honestly; they become the starting point for M2

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Proof required

Confirm that your child has practised tables 6 to 12 on at least five separate days. Describe a mixed-facts quiz you gave them covering facts from all tables 1 to 12 in random order. Note how they performed and which specific facts (if any) still need more practice before the timed quiz in M3.

What gets checked

• Child has practised tables 6–12 on at least five separate days, with daily sessions of five to ten minutes
• A mixed-facts quiz covering random facts from all tables 1–12 has been given — not each table tested in sequence
• Parent or carer has noted which specific facts still need reinforcement — this note becomes the warm-up focus for M3

Common mistakes

• Introducing tables 6–12 before tables 1–5 are genuinely automatic — the harder tables build on the pattern recognition from the simpler ones; shaky foundation facts compound as the difficulty increases
• Testing each new table immediately after practising it, but not returning to earlier tables — consolidation requires regularly mixing old and new facts together

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• A mixed-facts quiz in random order is the only reliable way to confirm tables 6–12 are consolidated alongside 1–5 — testing each table sequentially allows the child to rely on the counting-up pattern rather than true retrieval
• The hardest facts (7 × 8, 6 × 7, 8 × 9, 7 × 9) hesitate the longest for most children — if these four come up in your quiz, note whether they were answered quickly or slowly
• A child who has tables 1–5 well but is still hesitating on tables 7–9 is making normal progress; note the specific facts and make them the focus of daily warm-up before the M3 quiz

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Proof required

Describe the timed quiz: how many questions, in what order (random or sequential), and over what time limit. Record the result: how many facts answered correctly, how long it took, and who observed it. Parent or teacher confirmation of the result is required.

What gets checked

• Quiz covered facts from all tables 1–12 in random order — sequential or table-by-table order is not a valid completion quiz
• Time taken and number correct are both recorded, alongside the family's target time for comparison
• A parent, teacher, or carer observed the quiz and confirms the result — the child's own account of their result is not sufficient on its own

Common mistakes

• Letting the child retake the quiz immediately on a bad result without additional practice — a retake taken within minutes of a first attempt is not a meaningful second data point
• Accepting a sequential-table quiz result as a completion proof — answering 7 × 1, 7 × 2, 7 × 3 in order is far easier than answering 7 × 8 in a random sequence

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Confirm the quiz used random ordering, not table-by-table order — a table-by-table quiz produces artificially high scores that do not reflect performance under real exam or classroom conditions
• Record both the number correct AND the time taken — a child who answered all 100 correctly in 12 minutes has good accuracy but not yet automatic recall; a child who answered 95 correctly in 4 minutes has strong automaticity with a small set of facts still to firm up
• The family's target time is their call — the standard for this milestone is a genuine, documented, observed result, not a specific number; note the result honestly including any facts that were missed

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