Dear Parents/Carers,

I am pleased to announce the start of our KS2 Times Table Challenge! This challenge is to help and encourage the children to become more fluent in their times tables and to give them a target to aim towards.

Each child has a laminated sheet where their achievements will be recorded in stickers as they reach them. On the other side is a list of the tables to help them when they are learning at home. All the children start on the Bronze level, then move to the Silver level and finally the Gold level. They can choose any times table to start on and so can pick the one they feel the most confident with first. To achieve a sticker for each level they need to be able to:

Bronze: Recite the times table they have chosen and also recite the division facts.

e.g. For the 3x table

1x3=3, 2x3=6 ………… 11x3=33, 12x3=36

36-3=12, 33-3=11 ……………6-3=2, 3-3=1

Silver: Answer random multiplication and division questions related to the times table they are

working on.

e.g. 4x3=?, 9x3=?, 33-3=?, 18-3=?

Gold: Answer random multiplication and division questions where they need to use their times

table knowledge.

e.g.40x30=?, 90x30=?, 360-3=?, 2400-30=?

Once a level has been achieved, the children will be presented with a special wrist band of that colour in Mr Atkinson’s Achievement Assembly on Wednesdays. Their picture will also be put up on our ‘Times Table Challenge’ display board as a celebration of their achievement.

The aim is for the children to practice at home and then tell their teacher when they are ready to be tested on the table they have been working on. This is intended to be an ongoing challenge for the children throughout their time in KS2 and they will take their record sheet up with them to the next class. There will probably be an initial flurry of children wanting to be tested, especially from the older children and those who are already fairly confident with their tables. So please bear with us this half term as the challenge beds in.

I hope the children enjoy this challenge and we look forward to giving out lots of stickers and bands and seeing faces starting to appear on our Display Board!

Many thanks,

J.Davies