Max Conquers the Midnight Sun: Times Tables of 4

About this Grade 3 Times Table 4 Drill

Multiplying by 4 is a crucial stepping stone in Grade 3 multiplication fluency because it appears constantly in real-world situations—from counting legs on animals to calculating quarters in money problems. At ages 8–9, students are developing automaticity with facts, meaning they can recall 4 × 6 or 4 × 8 without counting on their fingers. Mastering the times-table-4 builds confidence and speed for multi-digit multiplication later, while also strengthening the commutative property (understanding that 4 × 7 equals 7 × 4). When students can fluently recall these facts, their working memory is freed up to tackle more complex problem-solving. This drill targets the CCSS.MATH.3.OA.C.7 standard, which asks third graders to achieve fluency with single-digit multiplication facts through reasoning and repeated practice.

What your student will practice

• Fluently recall all single-digit multiplication facts with 4 (4 × 0 through 4 × 10)
• Apply skip-counting by 4s to solve multiplication and division problems accurately
• Demonstrate understanding that 4 × a = a × 4 using the commutative property
• Use times-table-4 facts to solve real-world word problems involving groups of 4

Common mistakes to watch for

Many third graders confuse the times-table-4 with times-table-3, especially for facts like 4 × 6 (they might say 18 instead of 24). Another frequent error is miscounting when skip-counting by 4s, jumping by 3s or 5s by accident—watch for answers like 16, 20, 24, 28, 31 (mixing in a skip-count-by-5 mistake). Some students also forget the difference between multiplication and addition, writing 4 + 6 = 10 when they mean 4 × 6. Ask your child to use their fingers to show 4 groups on one hand and count aloud to catch these patterns early.