How To Use Pictorial Methods To Teach Times Tables

Hi, I'm Rebecca, and in this film I'm going to give you my top tips for using pictorial representations to teach times tables. Using a variety of images is key to developing understanding. But before moving on to pictures, make sure your pupils are confidently using concrete images and shapes to multiply. So let's have a look at how we can do this here. I've got some arrays and I can use these two arrays to to teach the five and the three times table. Begin by asking your pupils, what do they represent? And you can have a discussion that this array represents three lots of five and this array represents five lots of three. Let's have a look at this array in more detail. Ask your pupils, what does it show us? Well, we can see that 3 add 3, add 3. Add 3. Add 3 gives us the same as 5 lots of 3, making that link between repeated addition and multiplication. Don't forget to challenge your pupils further. Ask them to add another row of three. How many rows would we have and how many circles altogether? And make sure that you always link it to division. Ask your pupils, how might we use this array to work out the calculation? What is 15 divided by 3? Once you are confident, you can then move on to other images where they don't necessarily represent one in value. For example, with the triangles, you could ask your pupils, well, how many corners does each shape have? We have three, add another three, add another three, which is nine, and that's the same as three lots of three, which is nine again making that link between repeated addition and multiplication. You can use quadrilaterals for the four times table, pentagons for the five times table and hexagons for the six times table. Moving on, you can then develop your understanding by using pictures to do matching games or pairs. Pupils might choose to start with the flower that has five petals, and they might match that up to the calculation 1 times 5. Or similarly, they may match it up to 1.5p coin. So there you go. There's just a few examples of how you can use pictures to teach times tables.