The Beginning of TT Rockstars for KS2
Times Tables Rock Stars is a maths programme that takes all the worry out of learning times tables and has a proven track record of boosting children’s fluency and recall in multiplication and division.
Children in Year 3-6 should soon be coming home with their new log ins, we will be providing Year 1 and 2 with their accounts next week, where they too can concentrate on their 2’s, 5’s and 10’s.
A Parent’s Guide to Times Tables Rockstars:
When it comes to times tables, speed AND accuracy are important — the more facts your child remembers, the easier it is for them to do harder calculations. Times Table Rock Stars is a fun and challenging programme designed to help
students master the times tables! To be a Times Table Rock Star you need to answer any multiplication fact up to
12×12 in less than 3 seconds!
Message to Parents
World famous rock musicians are the best at what they do because they’ve spent hours practising guitar chords, writing music or playing on the drums. It’s just the same with times tables – all Times Table Rock Stars need to practise and practise and practise. It’s absolutely essential that your child does a little bit of times table practice every day. In our experience, short bursts of practise on a daily basis are more effective than spending hours once a week.
And this is where you come in. For your child to be fully motivated and for them to get the best out of the practice, they need your help – your praise, reminders and support will help your child feel confident and motivated.
Over the course of the next few weeks and months, your child WILL get faster and more accurate with the times tables. All your hard work and theirs WILL make them a Times Table Rock Star!
Rock Status
It’s helpful to understand that the quicker your child can answer a times tables question, the higher their Rock Status. Use this list as a guide to help your child work out their Rock Status:
≤ 1 sec/question = Rock God
≤ 2 secs/question = Rock Legend
≤ 3 secs/question = Rock Star
≤ 4 sec question = Headliner
≤ 5 secs/ question = Support Act
≤ 6 secs/ question = Breakthrough Artist
≤ 7 secs/ question = Unsigned Act
≤ 8 secs/ question = Gigger
≤ 9 secs/ question = Busker
≤ 10 secs/ question = Garage Rocker
> 10 secs/ question = Wannabe
Game Modes
Single Player
Garage – the questions will only come from the times tables the teacher has set. As pupils start to answer questions, TT Rock Stars works out which facts they take longer on and will give them more of these questions to answer. The Garage is best for getting quicker at a few facts. Players get 10 coins per question.
Studio – the questions in the Studio can be anything from 2×2 up to 12×12.
TT Rock Stars calculates each the mean speed from their last 10 games in the Studio and translates into a Rock Status: Under 1 second per question to become a Rock God – Under 2 seconds per question to become a Rock Legend – Under 3 seconds per question to become a Rock Star – Over 3 seconds is a Busker
They earn 1 coin per question and the Studio is the place for them to set their best time across all the tables.
Multiplayer
Rock Arena – The Arena allows players to compete against all other members of their Band (their Bandmates would need to join the same game in order to compete together). A new Arena game starts every 15 seconds and once the clock starts they race to answer more questions than the others. In the Arena, questions will only come from the times tables the teacher has set for the week, similar to the Garage. They earn 1 coin per correct answer.
Rock Festival – The Rock Festival games are open to players from around the world. Like the Arena, there is no limit to the number of players who can join a game; however, unlike the Arena, questions are selected at random from 2×2 to 12×12. Pupils might choose the Rock Festival if they were playing at home (and therefore couldn’t easily synchronise playing against a classmate) or wanted to compete against others not in their Band. They earn 1 coin per correct answer.
