Have you ever used a mnemonic to help remember something ? "Never Eat Shredded Wheat" is a school yard rhyme that helps you to remember the order of the points of the compass (being North, East, South, West).
A memory cue is any type of stimulus that helps to "jog your memory" or help you recall information that is stored in your memory.
Remembering things can be hard - but it is much easier if you give yourself a memory cue (or memory hook) for groups of things that you want to remember. Once you have the hook you can think through each item.
The Kippson Times Tables each have a theme to provide that initial memory hook - for example the Flying Fives all have pictures of things that fly. The Explorer Eights all have pictures connected with Explorers.
We all know what it is like to have a mental block when asked a times tables question.
Instead of a blank, think of the theme
The theme links all the numbers in a table. It triggers the picture cue for each times tables answer, helping you to answer confidently.