Growth Point 0
Multiplication and Division Growth Points activities
The tasks listed on the following pages are rich tasks from various sources that may be used with multi-level groups or students who are working at a particular level.
0. Not apparent
Not yet able to create and count the total of several small groups.
Rabbit ears
Materials: One worksheet per student (enlarge to A3 if possible), scissors, glue.
Activity: Students complete the worksheet by cutting and pasting 2 ears on each rabbit. The ears can be cut from the bottom of the page. Concluding discussion can centre around the number of ears and number of rabbits (e.g. 1 rabbit = 2 ears, 2 rabbits = 4 ears).
Related key ideas: Equal groups, composite units.
Feet facts
Materials: One worksheet per student.
Activity: Students complete the worksheet by adding five toes to each foot. This can be followed with discussion (e.g. 1 foot equals 5 toes, 2 feet equals 10 toes).
Related key ideas: Equal groups, composite units.
Groups of students
Materials: None.
Activity: Use the students themselves to model groups. Ask six students to organise themselves into groups of 2, and record this in words on the board. Have the class determine whether or not they have been successful in their attempt.
Brainstorm language of multiplication onto the board and discuss ways in which statements can be written, such as ‘4 groups of 5’. Then have a different set of students organise themselves into this configuration.
Repeat with various combinations totalling less than the number of students in the class.
Related key ideas: Equal groups, composite units.
Variation: Have students record the number sentence in words and pictorially on a think board.
Unifix sharing
Materials: Unifix cubes or similar.
Activity: Each student is given a collection of 20 cubes (or items). Students are asked to put them into groups of 4. How many groups can you make? Compare answers. Are your groups equal? How do you know? Combine groups to make 20 again. This time ask students to make groups of 7. How many groups can you make? Are your groups equal? How do you know? Are there any left over? What do you do with the leftovers? How many more cubes would we need to make another equal group of 7?
Repeat with groups of any number less than 20. Students may be able to predict the likelihood of left-overs. It may be appropriate at this stage to introduce the term ‘remainder’.
Related key ideas: Equal groups, composite units, division with a remainder.
Variation: Separate the collections into groups that have left-overs and those which make equal groups. What do you notice about these numbers?
Simon says
Materials: Large dice.
Activity: Teacher rolls the dice and uses the number rolled to tell students, ‘Simon says make groups of x’. Students arrange themselves into groups according to what the teacher has rolled. Help students to notice how many students are in each group. Are all the groups the same? Are there any leftovers? What happens if we add the left-over students to groups? Students that don’t make a group become the helpers for the following rounds. Keep playing, eliminating the number of students after each round.
Related key ideas: Equal groups, composite units, division with remainder
Variation: Rather than student’s using their bodies as a whole, students could use their hands to create a group; or elbows e.g. one student can put their two hands in to make 2 or two students can put only one hand in each to make 2.
Use a modified dice to play the game and use the symbols of ‘equal’ and ‘not equal’ so that students need to make groups that are equal or not. What happens when you make groups that are not equal? Why do remainders do occur? The same game can be played using odd and even quantities in each group.
Mathematical necklaces
Materials: Various types of dried macaroni or beads, string.
Activity: Students thread the macaroni or beads onto the string to make a necklace. However, rather than putting the macaroni on individually, the pieces need to be threaded in groups to (e.g. six of one type of macaroni, then six of another type). Discuss with the students the total number of macaroni pieces used, and how this could be recorded as a number sentence (e.g. 8 groups of 6 macaroni equals 48 pieces, or 8 lots of 6 = 48).
It is recommended that the students complete this activity a couple of times, rethreading their necklace with different ‘groups of’, before being allowed to tie it off and wear it.
Related key ideas: Equal groups, composite units.
Huddle
Materials: Numeral cards, music.
Activity: This game is played similar to Musical Freeze. Play music and ask children to dance around the room. Pause the music and hold up one of the numeral cards. Students then move into groups of that size. Ask, ‘How many groups of x do we have?’ ‘Do we have any leftover students?’ Repeat the game.
Related key ideas: Equal groups, composite units.
Variation: Use the number of hands or elbows needed per group (e.g. each student can put only one elbow or hand in, or two students can put only one elbow or hand in).
What do you see?
Materials: Photos from around the school that show items in groups, six-sided dice.
Activity: Show the students photos taken from around the school. Ask, ‘What is the same about these photos? What is different?’. Students sort the photos so that they are in bundles that are the same (e.g. ‘These photos all show items which are in groups of x’). Students then go around the classroom and collect items and make their own collections. Take photos of these collections and ask other groups to name the collections made.
Related key ideas: Equal groups, composite units.