Times Table, Different Ways to Learn
Every child learns differently. Some children are ready to complete a full times-table challenge, while others benefit from tracing, visual support, shorter exercises or practical cut-and-stick activities.
That is why our Poodles & Friends Times Table Worksheet Packs include a variety of activity types and difficulty levels within one downloadable resource.
Designed for real classrooms
In one classroom, children may be working on the same times table but need very different levels of support.
A teacher might have:
Children ready to answer multiplication questions independently
Children who need to practise only five calculations at a time
Children who benefit from tracing before writing independently
Children who learn better through matching or cut-and-stick activities
Children with SEND who need a calmer layout and fewer questions on each page
Fast finishers who are ready to create their own questions
Instead of finding and printing several unrelated worksheets, teachers can select suitable pages from one coordinated pack. The whole class can learn the same times table together while completing activities matched to their individual learning needs.
This supports differentiation without making any child feel separated from the lesson.
The reality of different learning levels
From my personal experience working in schools as a Teaching Assistant, the difference between children’s learning levels within one classroom can be very wide.
Some children may already understand the times table and be ready to work independently. Others may not remember previous learning or may not yet understand the basic concept of multiplication at all.
At the same time, there may be several children with SEND waiting for individual support. This can include non-verbal children, children with significant additional needs and children who are waiting for a place at a specialist school. Despite having very different learning and communication needs, they may all still be participating in the same mainstream maths lesson.
Within one classroom, there may therefore be children who are:
Ready to complete a full worksheet independently
Still developing their understanding of multiplication
Unable to remember previously taught number facts
More comfortable practising only a few calculations at a time
Receiving additional SEND support
Non-verbal or communicating in different ways
Waiting for assessment or a specialist-school placement
Learning English as an additional language
Finding reading or writing difficult
More engaged by visual, sensory or practical activities
Ready for an additional challenge after finishing early
One teacher and a limited number of teaching assistants must try to support all these children during the same lesson. Even when teaching staff understand what each child needs, it can be extremely difficult to provide immediate individual help to everyone.
This reality inspired the different levels within our worksheet packs. The supported pages cannot replace specialist teaching or personalised provision, but they can give teachers and teaching assistants more suitable starting points to choose from.
A child who cannot access the standard worksheet may still be able to participate through tracing, matching, visual prompts or a shorter and more manageable activity.
The aim is to help more children remain included in the shared learning topic while recognising that they may need very different ways to take part.
One learning objective, different ways to participate
Children can all work on the same times table without having to complete exactly the same activity.
One group may use the standard worksheet, while another practises a shorter section of the times table with more writing space. A child who needs additional support can trace the number sentences, while another child can reinforce their understanding through matching or cut-and-stick activities.
Because the pages share the same characters, colours and overall design, the resources still feel like one coordinated lesson—not a completely separate worksheet given only to children who need more support.
That detail matters. Differentiation should support a child without making them feel singled out.
Convenient for parents too
Parents do not always know which type of worksheet will suit their child best. A large page of questions may feel manageable for one child but overwhelming for another.
Our packs allow families to begin with a gentle activity and gradually progress when the child feels ready. A child might start by tracing the number sentences, move on to a cut-and-stick activity and later complete the standard worksheet independently.
There is no pressure to finish every page at once. Parents can print only the activity their child needs that day.
Different activities for different learners
Learning times tables is not only about writing the same answers repeatedly. Children understand and remember information in different ways.
Each Poodles & Friends Times Table Worksheet Pack includes a mixture of activities, such as:
Standard multiplication practice
Shorter, more supported exercises
Tracing activities
Visual questions
Matching tasks
Cut-and-stick activities
A blank page for creating original questions
An achievement certificate
This variety gives children opportunities to see, say, trace, write, match and physically arrange multiplication facts. It can make repeated practice feel more approachable, meaningful and engaging.
Calm design with a clear purpose
The friendly Poodles & Friends characters and soft colours make the worksheets inviting, but every design decision also has a practical purpose.
The pages use clear instructions, comfortable writing space and calm, uncluttered layouts. Supported activities contain fewer questions so children who find a full worksheet overwhelming can concentrate on one manageable section at a time.
The aim is not to make learning unnecessarily easy. It is to provide an accessible starting point from which a child can build confidence, strengthen their understanding and gradually progress.
Supporting children without increasing preparation time
Teachers already spend a considerable amount of time preparing, adapting and organising learning materials.
By placing different levels and activity styles within one coordinated pack, we hope to make classroom preparation a little more convenient. Teachers and teaching assistants can quickly select the most suitable pages while keeping the whole class connected to the same learning topic.
The resources can be used for:
Whole-class lessons
Differentiated classroom activities
Individual or small-group interventions
SEND support
Independent work
Homework
Home learning
Additional practice and revision
Teachers and parents can print the whole pack or select only the pages needed for a particular lesson, group or child.
Meeting children where they are
Needing a different activity does not mean a child is less capable. They may simply need more time, a calmer layout, a practical task or another way to understand the same idea.
The Poodles & Friends Times Table Worksheet Packs were created from my personal experience of working with children in schools and with one simple belief:
Children learn in different ways, and good educational resources should give them more than one way to succeed. 🐩✨
— L C
Creator of Poodles & Friends
