This activity was originally created so that my class could get competitive with themselves about improving their own times tables knowledge. It provides a written exercise in which pupils complete a 10×10 tables square, the difference being that the numbers along the top and down the left hand side are not sequential, preventing counting on.
By printing off the individual sheets linked below pupils can practise at home using the countdown clock which is also linked. For teachers wishing to use this as a daily morning activity there is also a ‘week to view’ printable.
Tables Thing Original
Numbers 1 – 10
Tables Thing Advanced
Numbers 1 – 12 excluding 1 and 10
Printable sheet for one week’s practice.
The way we scored it was that the pupils were given 5 minutes to complete the grid and their score was the number of seconds taken to complete the grid plus the number of blanks and incorrect answers. So a pupil that only filled 84 squares and got 3 wrong would have a score of :
300 seconds allowed + 16 blanks + 3 wrong -= 319
A pupil completing all squares in 275 seconds and making 6 errors would have a score of:
275 seconds used + 6 wrong = 281
This allows pupils to have a number which they can compare to their previous bests and see the improvement they make over time. To do it this way you need to have a countdown clock running so that they can see their time should they finish before the limit.