Times Table Challenge Day

On the 15th January, Year 3 and 4 took part in ‘Times Table Challenge Day’. The idea of the day was to help children learn their times table facts, up to and including 12 x 12, a significant part of the maths curriculum. It was great to see so many children (and staff members!) dressed up as their Times Table Rock Star avatar or their favourite rock star, as you can see below:

We started the day with an assembly, where staff members went head-to-head in an online Times Table Rock Star battle to see who could score the highest number of points. The children were really helpful shouting out the answers and support for their favourite teachers! Afterwards, one of the Year 4 students braved the crowd and took on the challenge, scoring higher than both the teachers – amazing effort!

The children then split off into completing different activities, learning times table facts in alternative ways to Times Table Rock Stars. These included a multiplication version of ‘Guess Who’ and ‘Jenga’ as well as learning games using egg cartons, cards, dice and lollipop sticks. The children really enjoyed learning facts in different ways and it was lovely to see them working closely in groups, supporting one another when their partner wasn’t able to recall some of the facts.

We also braved the winter sunshine to learn facts using outdoor equipment. In the image below, the children wrote out their number facts using sticks, stones, fur cones and other natural materials. Some children used different sensory tools, including sand trays, to try and memorise the information as well. The children really enjoyed learning tables through basketball and tennis, as well as designing their own hopscotch games.

We finished the day with some well-earnt prizes, recognising how much effort the children are putting into learning their multiplication facts. Hopefully the children will be able to tell you about an activity which really helped them learn their tables, one they might want to continue using as the year progresses. Well done Year 3 and 4!