Academics · Subject Resources

Fact practice that knows
which facts you missed.

Choose the times tables, the layout and how many problems. The generator deals the facts like a shuffled deck, prints the sheet with an answer key, and runs it on screen: type each answer, press Enter, and finish with your score, your time and the facts to practice next.

Make a sheetWhat you get

The practice generator

The worked example is the 6, 7 and 8 tables times 0 to 12, thirty problems in mixed layouts on sheet K7Q2M, with two made-up practice sessions in the history. Pick your own tables or press New code for a fresh sheet. Nothing you enter leaves this browser.

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What you get

Academics · Subject ResourcesAlso for Academics · Study SkillsFree

What you finish with
A multiplication worksheet of 12 to 60 problems from the tables and range you choose, across, stacked, missing-factor or mixed, printed with an answer key on its own page; the same sheet on screen as timed practice that checks each answer, gives the score and the time, and lists the facts missed; and a history of practice sessions to see progress.
Who it is for
Students in grades 2 to 5 learning their multiplication facts and older students filling gaps, the parents who practice with them at home, and teachers who want a fresh sheet with a key in a minute.
Format
Browser tool. Works on a phone, tablet or computer; the number pad opens for answers on a phone. Prints the worksheet and answer key; downloads the practice history (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Subject Resources space in Caveat Academics; also listed for Study Skills (students practicing on their own).
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Tap the times tables to practice, such as 6, 7 and 8, and choose the range, the number of problems and the layout.
  2. Look over the sheet; press New code for a different one. Write the code down to print the same sheet again.
  3. Print the sheet with its answer key, or press Start practice to work through it on screen.
  4. On screen, type each answer and press Enter. Keep going to the end or press Stop.
  5. Read the facts you missed and build the next sheet around them.

Make a sheet

How the sheets are built

A deck of facts, shuffled by a code, dealt without repeats.

1 The facts in playTables6, 7 and 8chosenTimes0 to 1213 numbersFacts393 × 13, a full deck2 Dealt like cardsShuffled by the sheet codeK7Q2Msame code, same sheetNo repeats30 of 39 dealta fact repeats only after the deck runs out3 Each answer checkedAcross7 × 8 = 56the productMissing factor7 × ? = 56answer 8, since 56 ÷ 7Missed facts7 × 8, 8 × 7kept for next time1 Facts in playTables6, 7, 8chosenTimes0 to 1213 numbersFacts39a full deck2 Dealt like cardsSheet codeK7Q2Msame sheetNo repeats30 of 39until the deck ends3 CheckedAcross7 × 8 = 56productMissing7 × ? = 56answer 8
The worked example: the 6, 7 and 8 tables times 0 to 12 make 39 facts; sheet K7Q2M deals 30 of them with no repeats, in mixed layouts.

How it works

Every pairing of a chosen table with each number in the range is one fact; the 6, 7 and 8 tables times 0 to 12 make 39. The facts are shuffled by the sheet code and dealt one at a time, so no fact comes up twice until all of them have; a coin flip decides which factor comes first. With a missing factor, the answer is the product divided by the factor shown; a fact with a 0 is always written across, since 0 × ? = 0 has no single answer. The same code with the same settings always rebuilds the same sheet.

Why short, regular practice

Knowing the products of one-digit numbers from memory is a third grade standard in most states’ standards. A federal practice guide for math intervention recommends spending about ten minutes of each session on fast, accurate recall of basic facts, and research on learning finds that retrieving an answer, spread over several short sessions, sticks better than one long session. Work toward accuracy first; speed follows.

Sources

  1. Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, Grade 3, 3.OA.C.7: fluently multiply and divide within 100 and, by the end of grade 3, know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers.
  2. Gersten, R., et al. (2009). Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Response to Intervention for Elementary and Middle Schools (NCEE 2009-4060). Institute of Education Sciences. Recommendation 6.
  3. Baroody, A. J. (2006). Why children have difficulties mastering the basic number combinations and how to help them. Teaching Children Mathematics, 13(1), 22–31.
  4. Dunlosky, J., et al. (2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58: practice testing and distributed practice.

The two practice sessions in the worked example are made up. Practice history stays in this browser; the page asks for no name, and a name written on a printed sheet stays on paper. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.