Teacher guide · Think Lab · Medium · about 30 min

✖️ Times Tables Trainer

Pupils practise problem solving through "Times Tables Trainer": Spot the patterns in the 3, 4 and 8 times tables.

Lesson guide

1. 1. Hook · 5 min

   Show the ✖️ mission title and read the opening: "7 × 4 = ?". Take three quick guesses.

2. 2. Model · 5 min

   Think aloud through the first step together. Use Cog the Owl's line as your prompt: "Good thinking. Show me the why."

3. 3. Do · 10 min

   Pairs work through the 5 steps on screen or on the printed sheet. Circulate and ask "why?"

4. 4. Discuss · 10 min

   Use two or three of the discussion questions. Ask pairs to share different answers, not just correct ones.

5. 5. Reflect · 5 min

   Exit ticket: one sentence on how they used problem solving today.

Discussion questions

• What was the hardest choice in "Times Tables Trainer", and why?
• 7 × 4 = — explain your reasoning to a partner.
• A quick trick: what happens to every answer in the 4 times table — explain your reasoning to a partner.
• Explain how you'd work out 8 × 6 if you forgot it — explain your reasoning to a partner.
• Where could you use problem solving outside school this week?
• If you did this again, what would you change?

Adapting it

Support: Read prompts aloud, pair with a confident partner, and accept spoken or drawn answers for writing steps.

Stretch: Set the Challenge tier (1 extra steps) and ask pupils to justify every answer in writing.

Curriculum links

• National Curriculum: Maths: number, calculation, fractions and reasoning (KS1/KS2)
• National Curriculum: Maths: reasoning mathematically and problem solving
• National Curriculum: Computing: logical reasoning and algorithms
• PSHE: Living in the wider world: making decisions and evaluating choices