Educational Let's Learn

Telling the Time with the 5x table

Knowing the 5x table is essential to being able to accurately tell the time. The number of minutes between each number on the clock face is 5.

To help with telling the time, it is important to refresh and develop your child’s understanding of the 5x table.

 

Times Table Tips for Kids

Here are some helpful tips:

  • Pattern recognition is a valuable skill when learning the 5x table. Numbers in the 5x table only end in 0 or 5. This should be ingrained into your child’s memory to help eliminate numbers when recalling 5x table facts.

  • Acknowledge that multiplication is repeated addition. If your child is really struggling, they can simply count on 5 each time. This could be aided by using number lines and the use of jump lines in steps of 5.

  • It is easy to assume that memorisation of the 5x table is the key. However, recitation does not have many benefits for kids. It is better to fully understand the times table in question in order to access it better.

  • Examples of activities you can do to develop an understanding of the 5x table are…

  • Missing number sequences – This will get your child’s brain working and encourage them to logically fill in the gaps, e.g. 5, 10, ___, 20, 25, ___, ___, 40, 45, ____

  • Fill in the missing part of the number sentence – again, your child will have to reason and really consider the problem, leading to a deeper understanding of the 5x table, e.g. 5 x __ = 10, 5 x 4 = ___, ___ x 6 = 30