When do kids learn times tables in Australia? If you search for an answer, many of the top results follow England’s curriculum, which uses different years. Here is the answer for Victoria, year by year, straight from the Victorian Curriculum 2.0, with a learning order that makes each new table easier and short games to play at home.
Times tables in the Victorian Curriculum, year by year
Times tables don’t arrive all at once. Children build up to them over several years, starting with counting in groups. The Victorian Curriculum 2.0 calls the school years “levels”: Foundation is Prep, Level 1 is Year 1 (Grade 1 at many schools), and so on. Victorian government schools have taught this version of the Maths curriculum since 2025.
| Year | What children learn |
|---|---|
| Prep | Counting collections to at least 20, and practical situations like equal sharing and adding to and taking away from collections to at least 10. |
| Year 1 | Skip counting “initially by twos, fives and tens” (VC2M1A01). |
| Year 2 | The twos: “recall and demonstrate proficiency with multiplication facts for twos”, with the related division facts “using doubling and halving” (VC2M2A03). |
| Year 3 | The 3, 4, 5 and 10 times tables: “recall and demonstrate proficiency with multiplication facts for 3, 4, 5 and 10”, and the related division facts (VC2M3A03). |
| Year 4 | Every fact “up to 10 × 10 and related division facts” (VC2M4A02). |
So the short answer is: children start with skip counting in Year 1, know their twos in Year 2, add the threes, fours, fives and tens in Year 3, and know every fact up to 10 × 10 by the end of Year 4.
What times tables should Year 3 know?
By the end of Year 3, a child in Victoria is expected to recall the multiplication facts for twos, threes, fours, fives and tens, and use them for division too. If they know 4 × 5 = 20, they can work out that 20 shared into 4 groups is 5. The rest of the tables (sixes, sevens, eights and nines) are Year 4 work.
“Recall” matters here. The curriculum asks children to know these facts quickly, not just work them out. That speed frees up their thinking for harder problems later. But recall grows best from understanding, so the steps below start with what multiplication means.
Start with groups, not lists
Before chanting tables, children need to see that multiplying is counting equal groups. Three plates with four strawberries on each is “three groups of four”, which is 12. Point out groups everywhere:
- An egg carton is an array: 2 rows of 6 eggs, or 6 columns of 2.
- A muffin tray might be 3 rows of 4.
- A pair of shoes is a group of 2. How many shoes at the front door?
- Fingers come in fives, and 10c coins are tens.
Arrays also show the turnaround idea: 3 rows of 4 is the same as 4 rows of 3. Turn the egg carton and the number stays the same. Once your child sees that 3 × 4 = 4 × 3, the number of facts to learn is roughly halved.
How to teach times tables: a learning order that works
Each table can lean on one your child already knows. This order follows the curriculum and uses doubling and halving, so nothing has to be learnt from scratch.
- Twos. These are the doubles: 3 + 3, 4 + 4. Doubles are a big part of Year 1 and Year 2 maths, so the twos often feel familiar.
- Tens. Count fingers in tens, or stacks of 10c coins: 10, 20, 30. Tens are the easiest pattern of all.
- Fives. Half of the tens. If 6 × 10 = 60, then 6 × 5 is half of that, 30. Fives also go round the clock face, which helps with telling the time.
- Fours. Double the twos. 2 × 7 = 14, so 4 × 7 is double 14, which is 28.
- Threes. Skip count in a rhythm: 3, 6, 9, 12. Clap or bounce a ball on each number.
- Sixes, eights and nines (Year 4). Sixes are double the threes, eights are double the fours, and nines are the tens take away one group: 9 × 6 is 60 take away 6, which is 54.
- Sevens last. By now almost every seven fact is already known as a turnaround: 7 × 3 is 3 × 7, and 7 × 8 is 8 × 7. Only 7 × 7 is truly new.
Times tables games for home
Short games keep facts fresh without any worksheets. Choose the table your child is learning now.
- Dice times. Roll one die and multiply by the table of the week: a 4 in the twos game is 2 × 4 = 8. Later, roll two dice and multiply them.
- Card flip. Take the 1 to 10 cards from a pack. Flip one and say the fact: in the fives game, a 7 is 35. Keep the cards you get right and try to win the pile.
- Skip-count bounce. Bounce a ball and count up in threes or fours. Then try counting back down.
- Car facts. On a drive, take turns asking one fact each. Grown-ups get asked too, and it’s fun when they have to think.
- Buzz. Count around the table, but say “buzz” instead of any number in the threes table. Anyone who forgets is out.
- Turnaround hunt. Write a fact, like 5 × 8 = 40. Can your child write its turnaround and the two division facts that go with it?
For more ways to bring maths into the day, see our ideas for everyday maths talk. A few minutes on a learning app can help too, as long as it stays short and calm (our post on screen time that helps has tips).
When a table won’t stick
Every child finds some facts harder than others. If one keeps slipping, go back a step. Build it as an array with blocks or coins. Find it from a fact they know: if 6 × 6 is tricky, 5 × 6 is 30, and one more 6 makes 36. Write the hard facts on a card on the fridge and look at them together each morning. If your child is upset about times tables, ask their teacher which strategies the class is using, so you can use the same words at home.
Questions parents ask
When do kids learn times tables in Australia?
In Victoria, children skip count by twos, fives and tens in Year 1, learn the twos in Year 2, the 3, 4, 5 and 10 facts in Year 3, and every fact up to 10 × 10 in Year 4. Other states and territories have their own curriculum, so the years can differ a little; check with your child’s school if you live outside Victoria.
What times tables should Year 3 know?
By the end of Year 3, the Victorian Curriculum expects children to recall the facts for twos, threes, fours, fives and tens, and to use them for the matching division facts.
Which times table should my child learn first?
Start with the twos (the doubles), then the tens and the fives. The fours come easily from doubling the twos, and the threes after that.
At what age should a child know all their times tables?
In Victoria, by the end of Year 4, when most children are around 9 or 10. Knowing them earlier is fine, but there is no need to rush.
Are times tables still learnt by heart?
Yes. The curriculum asks children to “recall and demonstrate proficiency” with the facts, which means knowing them quickly. Schools build that recall on understanding first, with groups, arrays and patterns.
Sources
- Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0: Mathematics, VCAA (content descriptions VC2M1A01, VC2M2A03, VC2M3A03 and VC2M4A02)
- Curriculum programs: policy, Victorian Department of Education
