▸ Why It Matters
The 9 times table has a well-known finger trick that turns a hard-to-memorize table into a quick physical calculation, while 8 can be reached by doubling the already-practiced 4s facts. Pairing these two tables together on one worksheet is intentional: one gets a shortcut through a clever trick, and the other gets a shortcut through reviewing a strategy your child already knows, so neither table has to be attacked from scratch. Many kids find 8 and 9 the most intimidating facts in the whole multiplication table simply because they come late in the sequence and feel unfamiliar, but neither actually requires new memorization once the underlying patterns are pointed out. This worksheet has 14 problems mixing ×8 and ×9 with multipliers from 1 through 7, giving plenty of repetition without becoming overwhelming.
▸ Getting Started
Teach the 9s finger trick first, since it tends to feel like magic and builds confidence quickly. Hold up 10 fingers, palms facing your child, and fold down the finger matching the number being multiplied by 9 (for 9×4, fold down the 4th finger from the left). The fingers before the folded one show the tens digit, and the fingers after show the ones digit — read left to right, they spell out the answer directly. Practice a few examples together before your child tries it solo, and let them fold their own fingers rather than just watching you do it, since the trick sticks best once it becomes muscle memory in their own hands.
▸ If They Get Stuck
For the 8s, remind your child to use double-double-double instead of trying to memorize a new table: 8 is 2×2×2, so doubling a number three times in a row (double it, double that result, then double once more) reaches the times-8 fact using only the doubling skill practiced on earlier worksheets. For example, 8×6 becomes 6→12→24→48. If three steps feels like too many, an alternative is doubling the already-memorized ×4 fact just once, which shortcuts the process down to a single doubling step.
▸ Praise Points
Praise using the 9s finger trick correctly and confidently: "You folded down the right finger and read the answer straight off your hands — that trick works every single time, and you used it perfectly." Also praise persistence on the trickier 8s problems, since doubling three times takes patience: "You stuck with double-double-double even though it took a few steps, and you got the right answer."
🎯What This Worksheet Builds
This worksheet covers the 8 and 9 times tables through 14 mixed problems using multipliers 1 through 7. It teaches two complementary strategies: the classic 9s finger trick, which turns an intimidating table into a quick physical calculation, and the double-double-double method for the 8s (8 = 2×2×2), which builds directly on the doubling skills your child practiced in earlier worksheets. Together these strategies mean neither table needs brute repetition alone.
👉Next Step
Once your child can use the 9s finger trick smoothly and reliably applies double-double-double for the 8s, move on to Multiplication Practice 10, the final worksheet in this series. It mixes every times table learned so far — from the easiest 2s and 5s through the trickier 8s and 9s — into one comprehensive review, confirming that each strategy has truly stuck before moving to more advanced work.