Understanding Times Tables

Continuing in the series ‘Help your child master numeracy’, dyscalculia specialist Ronit Bird presents an ebook entirely devoted to learning and understanding multiplication tables.


Children who are expected to learn their tables facts simply as a list of numbers, without really understanding what they mean, often have difficulties recalling the facts reliably. The solution is to teach for understanding. This entails focusing on the concepts and the process – the way a child thinks and reasons – much more than on the answers.

In this book, children will be introduced to the area model of multiplication and division in a hands-on and multisensory way. Tables facts are modeled by counters arranged into arrays and Cuisenaire rods stacked to form rectangles. These models create patterns that are highly visual and memorable, which fosters the kind of visualisation techniques that are so important in the development of good mental arithmetic strategies. 

If you have never come across Cuisenaire rods before, you are recommended to begin by working through the previous ebook in this series, Exploring Numbers Through Cuisenaire Rods.

Ronit Bird has developed the ideas in this book through her many years of experience working with children who struggle with numeracy. However, the methods are equally successful with children who are learning times tables for the first time. 

This ebook contains 65 fully illustrated pages and 16 videos with a total running time of more than 75 minutes. The videos demonstrate exactly what to do and say as you work through the teaching activities and games. The book aims to show parents how to help their own child learn efficient calculation strategies based on logic and reasoning in order to develop a real understanding of times tables.