Classroom multiplication games are a great way to reinforce times table facts. Any way that you can find to reinforce multiplication facts in a fun way is ideal for helping your students learn their times tables. Here are four of my favorite classroom multiplication games.
Around the World
One student stand up and is ‘on’. They stand behind the student next to them (who remains seated in their chair). The teacher calls out a multiplication question for the student who is on and the seated student they are standing behind. If the standing student calls the answer out correctly first, they then move to stand behind the next student’s chair for the next question and so on, working their way around the other students in the class. However, if the seated student calls the correct answer out first, they are ‘on’ and they stand up and move to stand behind the next person’s chair for the next question and the standing student takes their seat. My students get super competitive and love to see how long they can be ‘on’ for.
Fizz Buzz
A classic! Choose two times table, i.e. 3x and 5x. Students sit in a circle and take turns to count from 1 to 50 (for example). However, on every multiple of 3, the student must say ‘Fizz’ instead of the number and on every multiple of 5, the student must say ‘buzz’ instead of the number. For every number that is a multiple of both 3 and 5, the student must say ‘Fizz Buzz!’.
Times Table Scavenger Hunt
On a piece of card, write a multiplication question. On another piece of card, write the answer as well as the next multiplication question. Continue until you have around 20-25 cards. Write the answer to question on the final card on the first card, so cards form a continuous loop. Place the cards around a large area – outside is ideal for this. Students work in small groups of around 2 or 3. They work through the cards, solving the question and searching for the card with the next answer. Students write down the answers in order on a piece of paper. Assign different groups different starting cards, to stagger the movement around the cards.
Multiplication Bingo
Choose a times table, for example, the 3x table. Students choose 5 multiples of 3 (up to 12x 3) and write them on their mini whiteboards. The teacher calls out 3x multiplication questions from 1×3 through to 12×3. Students work out the answer and if they have the answer on their card they can cover with a counter or mark off with their pen. Continue calling the questions from the cards and students continue marking off the answers they have. When a student has all five numbers marked off, they shout out ‘BINGO’. If more than one student calls BINGO, the first student to call it wins! You can grab my Multiplication Bingo Cards here to play whole class bingo with.
They contain bingo cards for times table from the 2x through to 12x tables and includes 40 bingo cards per set – enough for each student in the class!
Click here to read how I incorporate multiplication tables in my classroom morning routine.