Year 3 2, 4 and 8 times tables: using times tables to solve problems worksheet

“Counting in fours” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 3 maths unit “2, 4 and 8 times tables: using times tables to solve problems”, for children aged 7 to 8, and takes about 20 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 20 to 23 of the year, 15 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Counting in fours

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 3 · Maths · about 20 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can count in fours and show it as the 4 times table.

A Look back3 min

1.
5 × 2 =
2.
3 × 3 =
3.
Count in twos: 2, 4, 6, , 10

B Watch me, then you4 min

Three dogs are in the park. Each dog has four legs. How many legs are there altogether?

Three dogs sitting side by side on grass in a sunny park

Watch me

Each dog has 4 legs.

Count in fours: 4, 8, 12.

3 × 4 = 12, so there are 12 legs.

3 and 4 are the factors. 12 is the product.

Now you

1.
5 cats each have 4 legs. 5 × 4 =

C Your turn6 min

Each row is one animal group. Count the legs in fours and write the fact.

1.
1 cat has 4 legs. 1 × 4 =
2.
2 horses have 4 legs each. 2 × 4 =
3.
4 dogs have 4 legs each. 4 × 4 =
4.
6 cows have 4 legs each. 6 × 4 =

Say it out loud: What changes in each row, and what stays the same?

D Spot the mistake3 min

Ali says: “In 4 × 6 = 24, the 24 is a factor.”

1.
In 4 × 6 = 24, what is 24 called?
factorproduct

E Think deeper3 min

1.
Write every multiple of four from 20 to 50.

How did it feel?

I can do it Nearly Not yet

For the grown-up

Counting in fours · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. 10

2. 9

3. 8

B

1. 20 If your child writes 9, they have added 5 and 4. Ask them to count 5 groups of four: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20.

C

1. 4

2. 8 If your child writes 6, they have added 2 and 4. Each animal adds four legs. Count on in fours: 4, 8.

3. 16 If your child writes 12, they have stopped after three groups. Ask them to count on one more group of four to 16.

4. 24

D

1. product If your child picks factor, ask which two numbers are multiplied. 4 and 6 are the factors. 24 is the product, the answer they make.

E

1. 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44, 48 If your child misses some, count on in fours from 20 and check each number on the strip. Numbers like 22 and 26 are not multiples of four.

Words to use

Say“Which number do you add each time, and where do you land?”

Instead of“Just tell them the answer, or make them learn the list without checking it.”

After the sheet

Line up four spoons for each of three people, then count all the spoons in fours and write the fact.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

14 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

Wheels and the 4 times table(with a plan)
Neighbours in the 4s(with a plan)
Fours and twos(with a plan)
Two tables, one answer(with a plan)
Counting in eights(with a plan)
Next Door Multiples of Eight(with a plan)
Doubling 4s to find 8s(with a plan)
Packs of 4 and 8(with a plan)
Doubling and halving groups(with a plan)
Times tables in word problems(with a plan)
Divisible by 2 and 4(with a plan)
Halve, halve, even!(with a plan)
Scaling facts by 10(with a plan)
Scaling division facts by 10(with a plan)

Every Year 3 maths worksheet

The worksheets plan opens a printable sheet for every lesson in Years 1 to 6, each with its answers on a separate page for you. It costs £6.99 a month or £59 a year for the whole family, with no free trial.

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