Teaching times tables to a dyslexic child
Rote chanting of times tables relies on verbal working memory and rapid retrieval of arbitrary sequences, which is precisely the area many dyslexic learners find hardest. Repeating the method more loudly does not fix it.
There are fewer facts than it looks
The full grid to 12 looks like 144 facts. It is far fewer, and showing a child this is itself a relief.
- Multiplication is commutative. 7x8 and 8x7 are one fact, not two. That halves the grid immediately.
- The 1 and 10 tables are rules, not facts to learn.
- 2, 4 and 8 are doubling chains. Double, double again, double again.
- 5 is half of 10. 9 has the finger method and the digit-sum pattern. 11 is a pattern up to 9.
- What is genuinely left to memorise is a short list, mostly around 3, 6, 7 and 12. Often under fifteen facts.
Fifteen facts is a completely different task from 144, both practically and emotionally.
Derivation is a legitimate method
There is a persistent belief that working a fact out is cheating and only instant recall counts. For a dyslexic child, fast reliable derivation is a perfectly good outcome, and far better than the alternative of failing to memorise and concluding they cannot do maths.
A child who knows 7x7 is 49 and can therefore get 7x8 by adding 7 is doing real mathematics. Speed usually improves with use.
What to use instead of chanting
- Visual and spatial representations. Arrays and area models make multiplication a shape rather than a sound.
- Physical objects, for longer than feels age-appropriate. Concrete understanding is not a childish stage to rush past.
- Music and rhythm, which sometimes bypasses the verbal difficulty entirely, though not for everyone.
- Short daily practice on the few genuinely unknown facts, rather than reciting whole tables including the ones already secure.
- Context. Facts met while cooking, shopping or scoring a game stick better than facts met in isolation.
Stop timed tests unless a specific exam requires them. Time pressure hits working memory hardest in exactly the children who already have least to spare, so the test measures the disability rather than the maths.
How Different Drums helps here
Practice can be set to the specific facts a child has not secured, rather than running whole tables that waste time and morale on facts they know. Worksheets can be short, which matters when writing is also effortful.
Arithmetic and maths questions come from a hand-verified bank rather than being generated, so the answers are right, which matters when a struggling child needs the material to be trustworthy. Dyslexia-friendly fonts, adjustable text size and voice output are built in, so the reading load does not add to the maths load.
Common questions
Should my dyslexic child use a times table square?
Yes, while they are learning. A reference chart lets them keep working on the actual maths, which is usually the harder skill, rather than stalling on recall. Most drop it naturally as facts become secure.
How long should this take?
Much longer than for other children, and that is expected rather than a failure. Steady work on a short list of unknown facts beats intensive whole-table drilling, which tends to produce distress and little retention.
Learning that flexes around your child
Different Drums builds curricula, worksheets, tests and learning records around almost any topic, shaped to your child's pace, interests and your family's values. Core practice in maths and science comes from 200,000+ hand-verified questions. Ages 2-16+, used by families worldwide.
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