Times Tables, Multiplication and Division
In Year 4, children are expected to know every multiplication and division fact up to 12 x 12, and they take a national check on this at the end of the year. Alongside quick recall, those facts start doing bigger work: dividing two-digit numbers with remainders, multiplying by 10 and 100, finding factor pairs, and working through longer multiplications on paper. Getting comfortable here makes the maths in Years 5 and 6 far less of a struggle.
Practise Times Tables, Multiplication and Division
Have a guess, even if you're not sure. Get one wrong and we'll show you why, so every miss is a chance to learn.
Timed practice
The same practice, just with a gentle clock. Pick a length and see how many you can answer.
Good to know
The trickier times tables
The 6, 7 and 9 times tables are the ones most children find hardest, so here they are in full to keep on screen.
For grown-ups
Multiplication and division are two sides of one fact, and Year 4 is where that link is meant to become automatic: once 6 x 7 = 42 is solid, 42 / 6 and 42 / 7 follow almost without thinking, which is exactly what dividing with remainders relies on. Children also meet the distributive idea, breaking a tricky calculation like 6 x 7 into 6 x 5 plus 6 x 2, and they use short multiplication to handle two- and three-digit numbers on paper. These are the methods that sit underneath long multiplication, division and the whole of fractions and ratio later on, so secure recall and a feel for how numbers come apart pay off for years.
What is in this topic
- Recall multiplication and division facts for all tables up to 12 x 12
- Divide a two-digit number by a one-digit number, including answers with a remainder
- Multiply and divide whole numbers by 10 and 100, and scale known facts by 100
- Find the factor pairs of a number using times-table facts
- Use the distributive method to multiply a two-digit number by a one-digit number
- Multiply two- and three-digit numbers using short multiplication, plus mental methods including multiplying by 0 and 1
How to help at home
By Year 4 the goal is fast, automatic recall of every fact up to 12 times 12, ready for the national check. That comes from short daily practice, not one long session: five focused minutes a day, kept light and low-pressure, builds quicker recall than an hour at the weekend.
- Drill the facts both ways every time. Once 6 x 7 = 42 is solid, 42 / 6 and 42 / 7 follow almost for free, which is exactly what the divide questions need.
- Build the harder tables from easier ones. The 6s are the 3s doubled, so for 6 x 7 work out 3 x 7 = 21 and double it to 42. The 9s sit just below the 10s: 9 x 7 is 70 take away 7, which is 63.
- Practise the times-ten and times-hundred shift out loud, because every digit slides one or two places left: 7 x 10 = 70, 7 x 100 = 700, and 4600 / 100 = 46.
- Once a table is secure, hunt for factor pairs in its answers. From 6 x 6 = 36 you can list the pairs that make 36: 1 and 36, 2 and 18, 3 and 12, 4 and 9, and 6 and 6.
Where children get stuck
A lot of children stall on dividing a two-digit number when it does not split evenly, and they either guess or give up on the remainder. Anchor it to a known fact: for 38 / 6, ask 'how many 6s fit?' Six 6s make 36, that leaves 2 left over, so the answer is 6 remainder 2. Finding the nearest table fact first turns a scary division into a quick check.
The other common wobble is multiplying a tricky pair like 6 x 7 and freezing because it is not yet automatic. Split the harder number and add the parts back: 6 x 7 is 6 x 5 plus 6 x 2, which is 30 plus 12, giving 42. Breaking one fact into two easy ones means they never have to leave the answer blank.