Ink-saving
White cards with coloured borders and the animals in colour. For every animal rescued, your child colours in a star.
Download PDF3 times table
Children usually learn the 3 times table in Year 3 in the UK and in Grade 3 in the US. It is the first table without an obvious pattern, so it is usually the first one that needs real practice. Below are the facts from 3 × 1 to 3 × 12, the tricks that make them stick, the mistakes to watch for, and two things to print: a worksheet with 32 problems (multiplication both ways round and the matching division facts, with eight animals to rescue) and a poster of the table in its colour from the multiplication chart. Free, no sign-up.
- 3 × 13
- 3 × 26
- 3 × 39
- 3 × 412
- 3 × 515
- 3 × 618
- 3 × 721
- 3 × 824
- 3 × 927
- 3 × 1030
- 3 × 1133
- 3 × 1236
Colouring version
Black and white for any printer. Once an animal is rescued, your child gets to colour it in.
Download PDF
3 times table chart (poster)
The 3 times table from 3 × 1 to 3 × 12 in big type, in its colour from the multiplication chart, with the baby elephant that keeps it. For the wall or the fridge.
Download PDFFree for home and the classroom. Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0, so feel free to print, copy and pass it on, just don't sell it. If you share the sheet online, please link to this page. CC BY-NC 4.0
Once the 3s are secure, the 6 times table is the 3s doubled, and the 9s are the 3s tripled. All twelve tables at once are on the multiplication chart, and the Multiplication Tables Check practice sheets test the 2 to 12 tables in the format of the Year 4 check.
How the worksheet works
- Each of the eight animals has three problems to work out and one gate problem, just like in the game: out of three answers, your child circles the right one.
- When all four problems are right, the animal is rescued: in the ink-saving version your child colours in its star, in the colouring version the whole animal.
- The problems run from 3 × 2 to 3 × 10, both ways round, and the matching division facts (18 ÷ 3 and 18 ÷ 6).
- There is no answer key on purpose: check the answers together, or let your child check with the swapped fact (3 × 3 = 9, so 3 × 3 = 9).
Tricks for the 3 times table
Count in threes
3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30Skip counting out loud, with a clap on every third number, gets the sequence into the ear first.
Double, then add one more
3 × 7 = 14 + 7 = 213 × 8 = 16 + 8 = 24Three times a number is two times it (doubling) plus the number once more.
The digit trick
21 → 2 + 1 = 324 → 2 + 4 = 6Add the digits of any answer and you get 3, 6 or 9. A quick check for an answer your child is unsure of.
Odd, even, odd, even
3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18The answers alternate odd and even. 3 × 7 must be odd, so 22 cannot be right.
Division is multiplication backwards
21 ÷ 3 = 7, because 7 × 3 = 2121 ÷ 3 asks: how many 3s fit into 21? The worksheet practises both directions.
Common mistakes
- 3 × 7 = 21↔3 × 8 = 24
The answers in the twenties get mixed up.
What helps: 3 × 7 is odd (21), 3 × 8 is even (24).
- 3 × 6 = 18↔3 × 9 = 27
Jumping to a neighbouring fact.
What helps: Anchor on 3 × 5 = 15: one more three is 18, three more is 27 (via 3 × 10 = 30 − 3).
- 3 × 4 = 12↔3 × 4 = 7
Adding 3 + 4 instead of multiplying.
What helps: Three fours: 4, 8, 12.
For teachers
The sheet works well as independent practice, homework or an extension task for early finishers; the poster goes on the wall next to the full multiplication chart so the class can see where the 3s sit. The colouring version prints on any black-and-white photocopier, and the ink-saving version needs very little colour.
More free worksheets
- Multiplication chart 1–12 and 1–10: free printable PDF
- Christmas colour by number: the maths Christmas tree
- Printable maths Advent calendar
- Addition to 10
- Addition and subtraction to 10
- Bridging through 10: addition
- Bridging through 10: subtraction
- Addition and subtraction to 20
- Addition and subtraction to 100
- Multiplication Tables Check: free practice sheets
Rather practise with a game?
In Number Jungle your child runs through the jungle and dashes through the gate with the right answer. The same problems, matched to their school year, with no ads and offline. Free for Android, iPhone and iPad.
More about the game →FAQ
When do children learn the 3 times table?
In Year 3 in England (the national curriculum) and in Grade 3 in the US, after the 2s, 5s and 10s are secure. In England all tables to 12 are checked at the end of Year 4.
What is 3 × 3?
9. It is the square number of this table, shown in a white box on the chart and on the worksheet poster.
Is the worksheet really free?
Yes. It is free, with no sign-up and no email address. You may print and copy it for home and for the classroom (CC BY-NC 4.0).
Is there an answer key?
No, on purpose. The swapped fact is a good check: if your child worked out 3 × 4 = 12, they can check it with 4 × 3. For the gate problems, the right answer is one of the choices anyway.
What is the difference between the two worksheet versions?
The ink-saving version has animals in colour and a star to colour in. The colouring version is completely black and white, and the rescued animal itself gets coloured in.
How can my child keep practising the 3 times table?
Short, frequent practice helps most: a few minutes a day beats one long session. The free game Number Jungle asks the facts that are still wobbly more often until they stick, and the poster on the wall is there for a quick look-up in between.