How to Learn Your 4 Times Table: Tips from a Teacher (2024)

Learn the 4 times table with tips from an elementary school teacher including foundational skills, practical strategies, and engaging tricks for easy mastery.

• Start with easy times tables (10s, 2s, 5s) to build basics
• Teach the 4 times table after the basics are down, using simple strategies
• Use songs and doubling tricks to make learning the 4s fun

• Key takeaways
• 4 times table chart
• Practice problems

As students begin learning about multiplication, the next step is typically for children to be presented with the multiplication facts grouped together as sets for them to memorize.

While these sets are seemingly random, the multiplication facts are usually organized by one of the factors. In other words, students might learn all multiplication facts for 10, then 5, and so on.

The order of what is easiest for students to memorize can vary based on how well they have learned other math skills, such as skip counting and repeated addition. Still, some groups of facts are usually easier to understand than others and should be introduced earlier.

For example, the 10s multiplication facts are a practical introduction to multiplication. Early in elementary grades, students learn how to count by 10s and can then apply that understanding to multiplication. Once they recognize that multiplication is the same as repeated addition, they can understand that 2 “groups” 10, or counting by 10 two times, is the same as 2 x 10 = 20.

Similarly, learning the 2s and 5s times tables is more straightforward than learning other times tables because they have predictable patterns and relatively easy skip counting.

The 4s times table is around the middle of the spectrum of difficulty for learning multiplication facts. It is easier than the higher numbers 7, 8, and 9. Still, it does not have predictable tricks and patterns like the previously mentioned numbers, such as 5 or 10. The 2s multiplication facts are beneficial for understanding the 4 times table thanks to the concept of doubling (but more on that later).

Therefore, I introduce students to the 4s times table after they have acquired a solid understanding of the concept of multiplication recognizing that multiplication means “groups of” or repeated addition and mastered some of the easier times table.

As previously mentioned, a concrete understanding of multiplication gives students an effective way to calculate the product of any multiplication problem if they cannot remember an answer.

This is important as students learn more difficult multiplication facts, such as the 4 times table. Having a fallback strategy when encountering a tricky problem can help students reduce frustration or anxiety around math, which is always a great thing! Here are my top tips for teaching the four times table.

Since the 4s times tables might be the first set your students learn that could be more challenging than previously learned sets, a tip that can make it less overwhelming is to ensure students understand the Commutative Property of Multiplication. This property is that changing the order of the numbers being multiplied (the factors) does not change the answer (the product).

Once students learn 4 x 7, they also learn 7 x 4. Remembering this simple rule reduces the number of problems in the 4 times table chart from 20 to 10, which immediately makes it less overwhelming!

For example, if your child has mastered the 2s, 5s, and 10s times tables, then you can identify 2 x 4, 4 x 2, 5 x 4, 4 x 5, 10 x 4, and 4 x 10 as facts your child already knows.

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As students continue learning the times tables for 4, a few “tricks” or patterns might help. The first 4 times table trick is helpful for students who can easily double numbers and who have already learned the 2s times table. The 2s facts are relatively easy for students to double, and they can utilize this to find products in the 4s times tables.

Since 4 is the same as 2 doubled, students can use this relationship to solve the facts for the 4 times table. However, a vital point of this strategy is that students must also understand that only one factor should be doubled. Doubling one factor doubles the answer, but doubling both factors will quadruple it.

For example, when trying to solve 4 x 6, students can consider the fact that 2 x 6 = 12. Since factor 6 is in both equations, you can double the other factor, 2, to get 4 and double the product of 12 to get the correct answer of 4 x 6 = 24.

Another example is students can think of 9 x 2 = 18 when solving 9 x 4. Since you can double 2 to get 4 and there is a 9 as the other factor in both equations, double the first answer of 18 to get the product for 9 x 4 = 36.

The next trick for the 4 times table is a pattern within the products. These can be harder for students to visualize but can help them see if their answer is correct based on the rules and patterns described below.

Every fifth multiple of 4 ends in the same digit. For example, the 2nd multiple of 4 is 8. Five multiples later, which would be 7 x 4, the answer is 28. The products 8 and 28 both have an 8 as their last digit.

Here is a table that visualizes this 4 times table trick.

Even though we want our students to use strategies like skip counting, doubling and identifying patterns to master their 4 times tables, I want to acknowledge sometimes these strategies are too time-consuming when solving problems on standardized tests. So although rote memorization shouldn’t be your first strategy for teaching the 4 times table, it’s important students do eventually memorize their facts.

One fun way I help my students memorize their 4 times tables is with skip counting songs. I’ve seen firsthand how effective songs are when teaching multiplication because they are easy to remember thanks to their catchy tune. My students’ favorite song was this one. I allowed time every day to sing the various skip counting songs and this video was one of their favorites- they loved the dancing!

Good ole’ flash cards are also an effective method for memorizing multiplication facts, so I would also utilize them for the 4s times tables to aid in memorization.

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