Times Tables Mastery: The 4 Step Programme
If you have a particular tables problem you would like help with, please email me: alanyoung@timestables4u.com
As a teacher of mathematics at all levels and in many types of schools for thirty years, I know that:
a good 80% of youngsters do not have the necessary facility with times tables knowledge that is essential to obtain good grades in mathematics tests and examinations.
It is a mistake to think that times tables only come into the Primary Syllabus as you will find them in all types of multiplication, division, fraction and percentage work. They pop up when working with factors and multiples, word problems of all types, converting fractions to decimals, geometry, solving simultaneous and quadratic equations, multiplying algebraic factors, finding areas and volumes, negative number work and multiplying and dividing numbers written in standard form. Many of these topics occur in the Secondary curriculum.
Almost all external examinations now have a non-calculator paper which really tests a candidate's facility with tables and other mental arithmetic skills.
The 4 Step Programme can easily be implemented at home and, as you can see in the video above, excellent progress can be made in just a few short weeks. Most youngsters will have made excellent progress by this time next month if you follow the instructions in the Parent handbook.How does the 4 Step programme achieve this?
Virtually all other material obtainable on the internet and elsewhere encourages chanting, singing or writing down tables at length. This does achieve the required result eventually (I learned this way myself about two centuries ago), but it is very slow and frustrating for youngsters who want a much quicker method of learning their tables.
The 4 Step Programme skirts around all this nonsense and focuses on the facts that are not known and how to learn these without stress. Only then do we concentrate on speed of recall. This may sound counter-intuitive. After all, the chanting and singing methods have been used for years by many teachers and parents. But a moment's thought reveals the fallacy - if these methods are so good, how is it that most of our children have very poor tables recall?
The Parent Handbook explains the theory of the 4 Step Programme in easy steps and has been designed to be simple to follow.
The Student Workbook contains assessment sheets, practice sheets for multiplication and division and a host of other material to reinforce the skills that have just been learnt and you may select those that most closely match your son's or daughter's age and ability.
The 4 Step Programme may be tackled at any of three different levels.
Level 1: The 1, 2, 5 and 10 times tables.
Level 2: The 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 10 times tables.
Level 3: All the tables up to 10 x 10.
Everything you require for all three levels is contained within the Student Handbook. If your son or daughter is having a great number of problems with tables, the best thing to do is to begin at level 1 or 2 and make sure they know everything at that stage. When you think they are ready, simply move up to the next higher level. With the 4 Step programme this is all very straightforward and, again, the Parent Handbook explains everything you need to know.
So, enter your first name, email address and the year group of your son/daughter at the top of the page now and in just a few moments you could be downloading the Parent Handbook and the Student Workbook and sorting out those tables problems once and for all.
Once the times tables are known very well, they can be put to good use by tackling the activities below. They range in difficulty from quite easy to pretty hard, so, as with the Student Handbook, please choose the ones that are most suitable for your
son's or daughter's age and ability.
Missing numbers in times tables
Money sums
Multiplication-sums.pdf
Times tables and cross-figures
Times tables and digital roots
Times tables and digit squaring
Times tables and modulo arithmetic
Times tables and divisibility tests
Times tables and equivalent fractions
Times tables and factorials
Times tables and the fundamental theorem of arithmetic
Times tables and Goldbach's Conjecture
Number puzzles 1
Number puzzles 2
Times tables and Pascal's Triangle
Prime numbers 1
Prime numbers 2
Prime numbers 3
Times tables and repunit numbers
Times tables and powers
Times tables and square numbers 1
Times tables and square numbers 2
Triangle numbers
Times tables and factors 1
Times tables and factors 2
Times tables and factors 3
Times tables and fractions 1
Times tables and fractions 2
Clicking on this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/wholenumbers/multiplication/timestableswill enable you to see how rigorous and thorough the 4 Step Programme is compared to the method proposed by another well known provider of times tables materials. The choice is yours.
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