For teachers
Stilts stands with one foot on each number. His blue leg runs up one times table and his pink leg runs up the other, so the place where his legs meet is the answer. Swap his feet and he lands on the same answer, which makes commutativity something children can see.
Fit with the national curriculum (England)
| Year | Statutory requirement | How to use Stilts |
|---|
| Year 1 | Count in multiples of twos, fives and tens. | Explore only. Put one foot on 2, 5 or 10 and walk the other foot along the line; read the answers aloud as a count. |
| Year 2 | Recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 2, 5 and 10 tables. Show that multiplication can be done in any order (commutative). | Choose "Year 2". Swap the feet in Explore to show 2 × 7 and 7 × 2 land on the same answer. |
| Year 3 | Recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 3, 4 and 8 tables. | Choose "Year 3". Use "What is…?" questions, then read each fact back as a division: 24 ÷ 8 = 3. |
| Year 4 | Recall multiplication and division facts up to 12 × 12. Recognise and use factor pairs and commutativity. Multiply by 0 and 1. | Choose "Year 4". Practise includes factor-pair questions. Quick-fire mirrors the Multiplication Tables Check. |
Source: National curriculum in England, mathematics programmes of study (Key Stages 1 and 2). A revised national curriculum is due to be taught from September 2028; recall of times tables remains central to it. Schools in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland follow their own frameworks, but the same facts apply.
The Multiplication Tables Check
Year 4 pupils in England take the statutory Multiplication Tables Check in a two-week window in June: 25 on-screen questions on the 2 to 12 tables, each with a short time limit. Quick-fire uses the same shape, with a 6-second timer you can turn off. It is practice only: nothing is sent to the official service.
Things to notice together
- Both feet on the same number: the answer sits on the bottom row. These are the square numbers.
- Keep the blue foot on 4 and walk the pink foot right: the blue leg passes 16, 20, 24, 28… the 4 times table.
- Every answer on the triangle appears once. Why does 7 × 4 not have its own place?
- Which numbers appear more than once on the triangle? (24 is 2 × 12, 3 × 8 and 4 × 6.)
- Zero isn't on the line. What would happen to Stilts' legs if one foot were on 0? Every answer would be 0.
Using it in class
- Whiteboard: press Full screen. Children tap a foot to select it (it glows), then tap a number to move it; or they drag a foot. Answers on the triangle hide during questions, so they can't be copied.
- Tablets: works on iPads and Chromebooks in the browser. No app or sign-in.
- Keyboard: Tab to a foot and use the arrow keys. Numbers 1 to 9 on the keyboard answer multiple-choice questions.
- Sound: Stilts speaks short instructions, always shown as captions. Turn sound or captions off at the top.
Accessibility
Large touch targets, full keyboard use, captions for everything spoken, a reading-friendly font (Andika), and feet that differ by shape as well as colour. Movement is reduced if the device asks for less motion.
Privacy
Nothing a child does is sent anywhere. There is no sign-in, no cookies and no tracking. The only thing kept is the star count, saved in this browser on this device, and you can clear it below.
Made by DTTtech, a small independent eLearning company in Hampshire. dtttech.com