Our guide takes you through these steps to running a small intervention group:

The first step will be to find which children would benefit from a small group intervention. To do this, head to Stats> select a Class> then Fluency. Scroll down to Pupil Average per Table.

Use the pass speed slider at the top of the table to set a threshold. Any table with a faster average response time will show as green, any with a slower time will be red.

Using the table, look along the times tables listed, starting with 10s then 2s, then 5s etc. This is the order we would recommend teaching the tables. The first table which has response times slower than 6s for a group of students is a good place to start.

Once you know which table your group are going to be focusing on, click on Set tables > then the class that has one or more of the pupils in. Drag the children you are going to be working with to a new group and make sure they are set to manual.

Note: If you are planning on an intervention group with children in different classes, you will need to go in to each of their Classes and Set tables> Drag in to a group> select the same table.

Then click Set the tables and select the table you identified earlier. You can pick different tables for different weeks, but it is best to start with the one you have identified as needing improvement.

Now that the group is set to manual and a table has been selected, the children in that group will be asked questions on the 6 slowest facts in that table. As their response times improve, the next slowest facts will also be asked. The algorithm will constantly monitor the children's answers and broaden out their questions as they become more confident.

We would recommend that groups are short but happen often. Little and often has been proven to be the best way to secure times table knowledge. Therefore, make sure you have identified when the group will take pace and who will be running it. Making sure this is planned on the timetable will help ensure consistency.

Below is a short example of the structure the sessions could take. The session is planned to take about 20 minutes and would require physical resources. You could also offer access to Times Tables Rock Stars online or use the paper worksheets. You may also want to use other resources offered by TTRS, such as Scatter Tables, Rolling Numbers and Fact of the Week resources.

Ensure the pupils have access to:

Starter: Explain the focus of the session. Then begin with some verbal reciting of the table. This might be a song, chanting, counting stick or rolling numbers.

Main: In this part of the session, you will be examining the times table using the physical resources. The aim is to make the children more familiar with the table facts and build a bank of experiences they can associate with the facts.

Start with a single fact, for example 2 x 4. Model to the children how this could be represented with your resources.

Eg, four lots of two blocks. Ask the children how else this could be done. Two lots of 4 blocks, 8 lots of 1 block.

Ask the children to pick another times table fact from the table you are working on. Ask them to find three different ways they can represent that fact using their resources. Ask the them to explain how they represented their fact and how they know it is correct.

Example:

I made 6 x 2 by getting 6 lots of 2 blocks. I know it is right because I have 12 blocks and 6 x 2 is 12.

Repeat with another fact.

Plenary

To allow the children to consolidate their learning from the lesson, give them time to play games on Garage. The children in the group should have had the tables set to manual, with a focus on the table being taught. This means they would only face questions in that table. Make sure the children still have their tables square nearby to look up answers they do not know.