Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Multiplication chart

A times table you can tap, fold, hear and play with the whole class. Fold it over the diagonal to see 78 facts, not 144, break a fact apart on the chart, tick the facts your class knows, and play Call a fact. Print it filled, blank, fill-it-in or as your class chart, from 1 to 10, 12, 15 or 20.

times123456789101112
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

How to use it

  1. Tap any square. Its row and column light up, the equation appears in large type beside the chart, and its turn-around twin gets a dashed ring.
  2. Press Fold the chart (T) to fold the lower half onto its twins, or Break it apart (B) to see a fact such as 7 × 8 drawn as 5 × 8 and 2 × 8. Press B again for another way.
  3. Press Call a fact (C) for the whole-class game, Our facts (K) to tick what the class knows, or choose a version under Print and press Print this version.

Ideas for class

  • On the first day of times tables, ask the class how many facts they think they have to learn, then press Fold. The count says 78 different facts, not 144.
  • Turn on Sound, tap 9 × 1 and press Play the row. The nines walk down the scale and land on the low home note at 90. Then play the 5s, and the 3s and 7s, which are the same tune in opposite directions.
  • Play Call a fact on a Friday with the hard ones (6 to 9), two teams and five seconds of think time. Every answer paints a piece of a hidden picture, and the last one finishes it.
  • Tap 7 × 8, press B, and ask a student to explain the split in their own words before you read the sentence aloud.
  • Keep Our facts going through the term: tick the facts the class can answer in three seconds, print Our class chart for the wall, and print it again each month.
  • Open the pattern cards (L), pick one, press Show on board, and give partners two minutes before you press Why.
  • Type 24 under Where does a number live? and ask why it appears in six squares while 36 appears in five.
  • Hide the answers (H), then tap squares one at a time to ask “what is 7 × 8?” and tap again to reveal it.
  • Count by 4s with One at a time on, pressing Next as the class says each multiple aloud.
  • Print the Fill it in version for homework. Students already have the 1s, 2s, 5s, 10s and squares, so they use known facts to find the rest.

Related

Questions

What does folding the chart show?

The lower half of the chart lifts and turns over the diagonal, so every fact lands on its turn-around twin: 7 × 8 on 8 × 7. Only the squares on the diagonal have no twin, so the 1 to 12 chart has 78 different facts, not 144 (55 on the 1 to 10 chart). With reduced motion turned on in your computer's settings the chart folds without the animation.

Does the chart make sound?

Only when you turn it on. Sound is off until you press Sound (S), and the choice is remembered in this browser. Then each square plays a note chosen by the last digit of its answer, so a row sounds like a tune: the nines walk down the scale and the fives bounce between two notes. Nothing is downloaded; the notes are made in the browser.

How does Call a fact work?

Choose the tables, a think time of 3, 5 or 10 seconds, and whether to play in two teams. The chart hides its answers and lights one square with the question in large type and a think-time ring. Press Space to reveal the answer, then Space for the next fact. No fact is asked twice until all have been, every answer paints a piece of a hidden picture drawn the same on both sides of the diagonal, and the picture blooms when the class finishes. Team points stay on the screen and are gone when you leave the game.

What are the keyboard shortcuts?

Arrow keys move between squares. T folds, B breaks a fact apart, S turns sound on or off, P plays the row, K opens Our facts, C starts Call a fact, L opens the pattern cards, H hides the answers, N counts on, R resets, F is full screen and Esc closes. In Call a fact, Space asks and reveals, 1 and 2 give a team a point, and Esc leaves the game.

What is the difference between the 1–10, 1–12, 1–15 and 1–20 charts?

Most US classrooms learn the tables up to 10 × 10 and many go to 12 × 12 (so students can work with dozens and clock times). The 15 and 20 charts are for students who are ready to see patterns beyond the standard facts, such as 15 × 15 = 225. The grid always stays square so a row and a column meet in one square.

Why does the “fill it in” sheet already show some answers?

Students learn more from a chart that starts with the facts they know. The 1s, 2s, 5s and 10s are given on either edge, along with the square numbers on the diagonal. Students then use those anchors to work out the rest, for example 6 × 7 as 6 × 6 plus one more 6, which is exactly what Break it apart shows.

Is it free to print for my class?

Yes. There is no sign-in and no watermark except a small line at the foot of the page. Print a filled chart, a fill-it-in sheet, a blank grid or Our class chart on Letter or A4, then choose Save as PDF as the printer if you want a file.

Does it save anything about my students?

No. Our facts keeps one class map of ticked squares, with no names, in this browser and in the Share link after the # sign, which is never sent to our servers. The chart also remembers its size, colours and print version. Call a fact keeps nothing once the game ends, and nothing about taps is sent anywhere.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. Names, lists and settings stay in this browser. No sign-in, no ads.

How to teach the times tables with a chart

A chart is a reference, not a drill. Students who stare at 144 squares learn little; students who are shown where the patterns live learn quickly. A 12 × 12 chart has 144 squares but only 78 different facts, because 7 × 8 and 8 × 7 are the same fact. A 10 × 10 chart has 55. Folding the chart on the board makes that visible, and it is often the first moment the tables feel small enough to learn.

A sensible order

  1. The 1s, 2s (doubles), 5s and 10s. Most students know these already; the chart shows them how many facts they have for free.
  2. The squares along the diagonal (1, 4, 9, 16, 25 …). Colour by Square numbers to find them.
  3. The 3s and 4s, with 4s as double the 2s twice over.
  4. The 9s, using the digit pattern below.
  5. The last few: 6 × 7, 6 × 8, 7 × 8 and 7 × 7. Only a handful remain, and “5, 6, 7, 8” helps: 56 = 7 × 8.

Get a fact from facts you know

Break it apart draws the strategies students are asked to explain in 3rd grade. Split a factor at 5 (7 × 8 is 5 × 8 and 2 × 8), take one group away from ten (9 × 6 is 10 × 6 take away one 6), double a fact (4 × 7 is double 2 × 7), or add one group to a square (6 × 7 is 6 × 6 and one more 6). Each split appears on the chart as two outlined rectangles, so the area model and the sentence match.

Patterns worth noticing

These are the twelve pattern cards in the tool. Each claim is checked by computation in our tests.

  • The nines. The digits always add to 9 (18 → 1 + 8). The tens digit goes up by one while the ones digit goes down by one, because adding 9 is adding 10 and taking away 1.
  • The fives take turns. They end in 5, 0, 5, 0, taking turns. An odd number of fives ends in 5 and an even number ends in 0, because two fives make a ten.
  • Squares on the diagonal. They are the square numbers: 1 × 1, 2 × 2, 3 × 3 and on. The gaps between them are the odd numbers 3, 5, 7, 9, because the next square adds a row, a column and one corner.
  • Odd times odd. An answer is odd only when both numbers are odd; even times anything is even. On the 1 to 12 chart that is 36 of the 144 squares: one in four.
  • Digit sums in the threes. Every multiple of 3 has a digit sum that is also a multiple of 3 (51 → 5 + 1 = 6), and no other number does. It works because 10 is one more than 9.
  • The elevens. 11 × 1 to 11 × 9 repeat the digit: 11, 22 … 99, because 11 is ten and one more. After that the pattern changes: 110, 121, 132.
  • Six times an even number. Six times an even number ends in that number's last digit: 6 × 4 = 24, 6 × 8 = 48. The difference is 5 times an even number, which is always a whole number of tens.
  • The eights count down. The last digits go 8, 6, 4, 2, 0 and start again, down by two each time, because adding 8 is adding 10 and taking away 2.
  • The threes and sevens are mirror tunes. It is the same list: 3, 6, 9, 2, 5, 8, 1, 4, 7, 0. Two tables that add to 10 mirror each other in their last digits, because a × k and (10 − a) × (10 − k) always end in the same digit. Turn on Sound and play the two rows to hear it.
  • Fold the chart. Every fact lands on its turn-around twin: 7 × 8 on 8 × 7. Only the 12 squares on the diagonal have no twin, so there are 78 different facts, not 144.
  • Where does 24 live?. 24 lives in six squares on the 1 to 12 chart (2 × 12, 3 × 8, 4 × 6 and their twins). 36 lives in five, because 6 × 6 is its own twin. Only square numbers turn up an odd number of times.
  • Next door to a square. The numbers either side of a square always multiply to one less than the square: 6 × 8 = 48 and 7 × 7 = 49. It is a handy way to remember 6 × 8.

Common mistakes to watch for

Students often read across the wrong row, or add instead of multiply. Hide the answers and ask them to say the equation aloud first. Skip counting is a bridge, not a goal: once a student can count by 6 to 42 they should start moving to recall, a few facts a week. Our facts helps here: tick only the facts the class can say in about three seconds, and spend the week's practice on the squares that are still blank.