Educational quiz app · Ages 5-10

This is what learning looks like

Educational quiz app · Ages 5-10

This is what learning looks like

No nagging required. Keep the learning going after the worksheet, with every question read aloud and Owee guiding each step.

Scan with your phone camera

Family-friendly
No ads
Private

Maths · Colour-by-number and write worksheet

Times Tables Colour-by-Number: Free KS2 Lion Worksheet

Colour-by-number is one of the gentlest ways to practise the quick multiplication recall that Year 4 children need. On this free, printable worksheet, each part of a lion has a times tables fact. Your child writes each answer, then uses the colour key to pick the colour for that part, so the lion comes to life as the facts are completed.

It works as light, low-pressure practice for the Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check (MTC), which checks recall of facts up to 12 × 12. The sheet prints on a single A4 page, so all you need is a pencil and four colouring pencils: yellow, brown, orange and green.

Years 3–4 · ages 7–9KS2Free to printFree to shareSheet 141

What your child is learning

‘recall multiplication and division facts for multiplication tables up to 12 × 12’

Year 4 Maths: Number – multiplication and division, National Curriculum in England. Source and licence

Lion Times Tables Colour-by-Number

Free Maths worksheet · Ages 8 to 9

Name:

Black-and-white line drawing of a majestic lion sitting on a patch of grass, with its mane, face, nose, tummy, paws and tail tuft drawn as separate areas ready to be coloured in.

Work out the answers

Each part of the lion has a times tables fact. Write the answer in the box.

Mane: 11 × 7
Face: 4 × 8
Nose: 6 × 9
Tummy: 6 × 7
Tail tuft: 7 × 8
Paws: 12 × 6
Grass: 8 × 12

Colour the lion

Use each answer to choose the colour for that part. Colour the rest of the lion any colour you like.

Answer from 30 to 49: yellow
Answer from 50 to 69: brown
Answer from 70 to 89: orange
Answer of 90 or more: green

Answers: Lion Times Tables Colour-by-Number

Sheet 141

Mane: 11 × 7 — 77, so colour it orange
Face: 4 × 8 — 32, so colour it yellow
Nose: 6 × 9 — 54, so colour it brown
Tummy: 6 × 7 — 42, so colour it yellow
Tail tuft: 7 × 8 — 56, so colour it brown
Paws: 12 × 6 — 72, so colour them orange
Grass: 8 × 12 — 96, so colour it green

For grown-ups. Free worksheets and the Owee quiz app at owee.world

Answer key

Mane: 11 × 7 — 77, so colour it orange
Face: 4 × 8 — 32, so colour it yellow
Nose: 6 × 9 — 54, so colour it brown
Tummy: 6 × 7 — 42, so colour it yellow
Tail tuft: 7 × 8 — 56, so colour it brown
Paws: 12 × 6 — 72, so colour them orange
Grass: 8 × 12 — 96, so colour it green

How colour-by-number supports times tables recall

By Year 4, children are expected to move beyond working facts out by counting and towards instant recall. Colour-by-number helps because the reward (a finished picture) takes the pressure off. Each answer is used straight away to choose a colour, which strengthens the link between the question (for example 7 × 8) and its answer (56). The facts on this sheet are ones children often hesitate over, such as 6 × 9, 7 × 8 and 8 × 12. An unexpected colour, such as a green nose, is a gentle cue to check that fact again.

Preparing for the Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check

The MTC is a short, on-screen national check taken in June of Year 4. Children answer 25 multiplication questions drawn from the tables up to 12 × 12, with just six seconds to respond to each. Speed and accuracy both matter, so regular, little-and-often practice tends to work far better than long sessions. A worksheet like this is most effective as a five-to-ten-minute warm-up. To build genuine fluency, vary which tables you focus on across the week and gradually include the trickier facts (such as the 6, 7, 8, 9 and 12 times tables) that children most often hesitate over.

Getting the most from this worksheet at home

Read the colour key together first. Your child can work through the facts in any order, starting with the ones they feel sure of. If they pause on a fact, prompt with a strategy rather than the answer: double a smaller fact (4 × 8 = 32, so 8 × 8 = 64), use a nearby fact (8 × 6 is one more 6 than 7 × 6), or for the 11 times table, remember that 11 × 7 is 10 × 7 plus one more 7. Avoid saying that multiplying by 10 ‘adds a zero’: it causes mistakes with decimals later. Say the digits move one place to the left instead. Keep the mood calm. The aim is confidence, not a timed test.

Linking multiplication and division facts

The National Curriculum asks children to recall multiplication and division facts together, because they are two views of the same relationship. Once your child knows 6 × 7 = 42, they also have 7 × 6 = 42, 42 ÷ 6 = 7 and 42 ÷ 7 = 6. When the lion is finished, pick one fact from the sheet and ask your child to say or write its three partner facts. It takes a minute and needs no extra worksheet.

Frequently asked questions

What times tables does the Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check cover?

The check covers multiplication facts up to 12 × 12. Children answer 25 questions on screen, with six seconds allowed for each, so quick recall of every table from 2 to 12 is the goal.

What age is this times tables colouring worksheet for?

It is aimed at children aged 8 to 9 (Year 4, lower KS2), the year of the Multiplication Tables Check. Confident Year 3 children and Year 5 children needing extra consolidation will also find it useful.

Is this worksheet free to print?

Yes. The worksheet is completely free to download and print, and it is designed to fit on a single A4 page so you only need one sheet per child.

How often should my child practise their times tables?

Short, frequent sessions work best. Five to ten minutes a day, focusing on one or two tables at a time, builds recall far more effectively than a single long session each week.

How can I help my child who finds the harder tables tricky?

Prompt with strategies rather than answers: doubling for the even tables, multiplying by 10 and taking one group away for the 9 times table (9 × 6 = 60 − 6 = 54), and using a nearby known fact (8 × 6 is one more 6 than 7 × 6). Praise effort and keep the colouring calm and pressure-free.

Curriculum links

Year 4 Maths: Number – multiplication and division (statutory): 'recall multiplication and division facts for multiplication tables up to 12 × 12'
Year 4 Number, multiplication and division: 'use place value, known and derived facts to multiply and divide mentally'

Quoted word for word from Department for Education documents: the National Curriculum in England, the EYFS framework or the RSHE guidance. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Made by The Owee education team. Updated 13/10/2026. Free to print and share.