5 Times Table Strategies

Overview

Today students explore fun, repeatable strategies to memorize the 5 times table and connect multiplication with related division facts. Students will practice until they can produce products and use patterns to reason about unknowns.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• WALT recall facts in the 5 times table up to 5 × 10 from memory or with efficient strategies.
• WALT explain how multiplication and division are related using the same fact family.
• WALT use known products to determine an unknown whole number in a multiplication equation.
• WALT apply properties of operations (commutative and associative ideas) to compute accurately.

Success criteria

• I can say 5 × 1 through 5 × 10 quickly and accurately.
• I can use a fact to answer a matching division question (like 5 × 6 = 30, so 30 ÷ 5 = 6).
• I can find the missing number in equations such as 5 ×? = 35.
• I can describe at least one strategy I used (rhymes, skip-counting, doubling-and-halving, or patterns).

Curriculum links

• Operations and Algebraic Thinking — multiplication and division within 100 fluently.
• Operations and Algebraic Thinking — properties of operations as strategies to multiply and divide.
• Operations and Algebraic Thinking — determine the unknown number in a multiplication or division equation.
• Operations and Algebraic Thinking — identify patterns in multiplication and explain them using properties of operations.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Warm-up: “5 Times” quick start. Teacher writes: “5 × 3 =? 5 × 6 =?” and asks students to show answers on mini whiteboards. Student solves silently, then holds up boards; teacher records any common errors.

2. 5–15 min · Direct teach: Pattern + fact family. Teacher models a chart with products of 5 and points out the pattern: each new product adds 5 more (5, 10, 15, 20…). Students complete a partially filled table (5 × 1 to 5 × 8) and then write one related division fact for two completed products.

3. 15–25 min · Song/rhyme practice with gestures. Teacher leads a teacher-created call-and-response rhyme using skip-counting by 5 (students repeat product and corresponding “groups of 5” phrase). Students practice in two rounds: first with teacher prompting, then in pairs without prompts while using consistent gestures (thumb for 5, then count up by 5).

4. 25–35 min · Strategy stations (1 student rotation, quick checks). Teacher sets up 3 stations and rotates the student every ~3–4 minutes: Station A: “Rhythm Cards” — student reads a card (e.g., 5 × 7) and says the product. Station B: “Doubles-and-Half” — teacher reminds: 5 × 8 = (10 × 8)/2 idea using place-value: 10 × 8 = 80, so 5 × 8 = 40. Station C: “Fact Family Flip” — student completes: 5 × 6 = __ and __ ÷ 5 = 6. Student completes each station task, earning one quick teacher check per station.

5. 35–45 min · Missing-number equations challenge. Teacher writes three equations of increasing support:

• 5 ×? = 25 -? × 5 = 35
• 45 ÷ 5 =? Students solve, explaining one using the product pattern or a known fact, not just guessing.

6. 45–55 min · Fluency game: “Say it, Prove it.” Teacher runs a timed round: teacher calls a product fact (e.g., 5 × 9). Student says the product, then must prove it by stating the matching division fact (e.g., 45 ÷ 5 = 9). Student completes 6–8 prompts; teacher notes which facts still require prompting.

7. 55–60 min · Exit ticket (quick assessment). Teacher hands a single-page exit ticket with:

• Fill in: 5 × 6 = __
• Fill in: 5 ×? = 40
• Match: 30 = 5 × __ = __ ÷ 5 Student completes independently while teacher observes briefly.

Resources

• Mini whiteboard and marker
• 5-times-table chart (partially blank for Step 2)
• Index cards with multiplication/division fact prompts
• “Fact family flip” cards (3-fact sets)
• A small set of missing-number equation strips
• Timer (for the fluency game)
• Exit ticket sheet

Assessment

• Formative: teacher checks mini whiteboard answers in the first 5 minutes for accuracy and speed.
• Formative: during stations, teacher listens for correct product and correct matching division fact (fact-family understanding).
• Exit ticket: verifies multiplication recall and ability to determine unknown whole numbers in multiplication/division equations.

Differentiation

• Support: provide a partially completed 5-times table chart with the pattern “add 5 each time,” and use sentence frames like “Because 5 × 6 = 30, then 30 ÷ 5 = 6.”
• Support: allow the student to use a number line or chart during the missing-number section, then gradually reduce reliance by the second equation.
• Extension: ask the student to create a rhyme line for one specific fact (e.g., 5 × 7 = 35) and to generate two additional division facts from one product.
• For retention: use consistent gestures and repeat the same rhyme structure throughout the lesson to build automaticity.

Extension (optional)

• None.