Modelling Composite Units

Modelling Composite Units:

An early multiplication and Division strategy. Students will separate the items into equal groups and then count out each individually. For example in 3 x 5. Students will count each item individually as they make 3 groups of 5. Once completed they will go back and count each item individually to get the total.

Videos for Educators

Important Information:

Students will directly model the problem using manipulatives or a drawing to help build understanding and make connections. Students will count out the number of items needed for each group and repeat the process until they have made enough groups. This visual representation is very important for students to have to help build multiplicative understanding.

Encourage students to show their thinking in multiple ways during this stage such as with manipulatives, on paper, with their fingers and any other way they choose (build a model with play-doh).

Multiplication Models


Examples of what students might do

Examples of what students might say:

3 x 5 "I made 3 lines with 5 blocks and then I counted how many blocks I had altogether."

15 Ă· 5 "I counted out 15 blocks and then I divided them equally into 5 groups. I then counted up how many blocks were in each group."

Strategies to Support Student Learning:

  • encourage students to use multiple representations

  • use numbers that are easy for students to create multiple representations with

  • encourage skip counting of the equal groups

  • Help students make the connection between multiplication and division.