Fours are double doubles
7 × 4 is double 7 doubled: 14, then 28.
Step 1: Let's Learn
Read it, or press Listen and follow the words.
Threes from twos
7 × 3 is 7 × 2 plus one more 7: 14 and 7 makes 21.
Dividing too
28 ÷ 4 asks what times 4 makes 28. Same facts, read the other way.
Step 2: Try It Yourself
Tap and try it out.
4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 28
7 × 4 = 28
28 ÷ 7 = 428 ÷ 4 = 7
7 rows of 4 makes 28.
7 × 4 = 28. 7 and 4 are a factor pair of 28.
Pairs you have found
- 4 × 7
Step 3: In Real Life
In a workshop
A table needs 4 legs. For 3 tables, a carpenter orders 3 × 4 = 12 legs. A tricycle needs 3 wheels, a car needs 4. Counting in threes and fours is how a workshop orders its parts.
Step 4: Watch an Example
One step at a time.
Watch Leo Double Twice
Leo is asked for 8 × 4.
- Step 1
He doubles 8 to get 16.
Step 5: Your Turn
Practice makes it stick.
The Tables
Problem 1 of 2
6 tables each seat 4 people. How many people can sit down?
people
The Tricycles
Problem 2 of 2
9 tricycles each have 3 wheels. How many wheels?
wheels
Threes and Fours
1 of 4
6 × 3 = ?
2 of 4
7 × 4 = ?
3 of 4
24 ÷ 3 = ?
4 of 4
36 ÷ 4 = ?
Build the Array
Build it, then check.
Build 7 rows of 4.
1 = 1
1 row of 1 makes 1.
Step 6: Quick Check
Show what you know.
Question 1 of 2
8 × 3 = ?
Question 2 of 2
What is multiplying by 4 the same as?
What You Learned
- Fours are double doubles.
- Threes are twos plus one more group.
- Division uses the same facts backwards.
For the grown-up
This lesson is where the child recalls the 3 and 4 times tables, using doubling for the fours. Multiplication is equal groups before it is a fact to recall. Three fours is three groups of four, and division is the same picture asked from the other end.
Watch for multiplication and division being learned as separate subjects. They are one relationship, and a child who sees that halves what there is to remember.
When they are stuck on a division, ask the multiplication instead: "what times 4 gives 24?" Nearly every child can answer that when they cannot answer 24 divided by 4.
Building the 3s and 4s from the 2s — The 4 times table is the 2 times table doubled: 6 × 4 is 6 × 2 = 12, doubled to 24. The 3 times table is the 2s plus one more group: 6 × 3 is 6 × 2 = 12, plus 6, giving 18. Every new table can be reached from an older one.
Patterns to lean on — Every answer in the 4 times table is even, and every one is double an answer in the 2s. The 3s alternate odd and even: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18. Their digits also add up in a repeating cycle — 1+2 for 12, 1+5 for 15, 1+8 for 18 gives 3, 6, 9 again.
From working out to knowing — Building a fact from a known one is a good bridge but not the destination. Facts you rebuild every time slow down every longer calculation later. Use the building strategies while you learn, and keep practicing until the answers simply arrive.
Build them from ones you know — × 4 is double, then double again. 6 × 4: 6 doubled is 12, doubled again is 24. × 3 is double it, then add one more group. 6 × 3: 12, plus 6, is 18. Check: 6 × 3 = 18 and 6 × 4 = 24. You never memorized these. You built them from × 2.