Multiplication and Division Facts

Why it matters

Building flexibility and automaticity with number facts frees up the brain's working memory so it can tackle more complex tasks.

Everyday Arrays

Materials Needed:

paper and pencil

Directions:

Your child will go on a scavenger hunt to find different arrays in the house or neighborhood.
(e.g. window panes, cookies on a tray, etc.)
Your child should draw the array they've found and determine the amount of objects without counting every one.
Write an equation to match the array.

Grocery Lists

Materials Needed:

grocery ads
paper and pencil
coupons (optional)

Directions:

Have your child create a grocery list for your family. They should calculate the approximate total needed for all the groceries.
For 3-4 grade, have them round each price to the nearest dollar. For 5 grade, they can keep the decimal prices.
If using coupons, have you child then calculate the money they saved using the coupons.

Variations:

Have them create a grocery list for different family sizes such as a single person, a family of 4, a family of 8.
- Note: They may want to increase all of the items, but have them reflect on which items may not need to be changed even if the family size has.

Multiplication Concentration

Idea taken from Teaching Student Centered Mathematics by Van de Walle et al.

Materials Needed:

index cards
2 players

Set Up:

Create pairs of cards with a multiplication problem on one and the product on the other
(e.g. 3x5 on one card and 15 written on the other

Directions:

Shuffle the cards and place them face down making a rectangular grid
Flip one card then try to find it's match. If no match is found, flip the cards face down and go again.

Can You Make It?

Idea taken from Bowl a Fact in Teaching Student Centered Mathematics by Van de Walle et al.

Materials Needed:

a piece of paper split into 10 sections labeled 1-10
objects to use as game markers (beads, beans)
3 dice

Directions:

Roll all three dice.
Use the three numbers rolled to come up with equations that result in one of the answers on the game board.
(e.g. Roll 4, 2, and 3 --> you can cover up 5 with (4x2) - 3.)
The goal is to use the same three numbers to cover up every space on the game board. If you can't, roll the dice again and use those three numbers to cover the remaining numbers.
Then clear the board and start again.

Salute

Idea taken from Teaching Student Centered Mathematics by Van de Walle et al.

Materials Needed:

Playing cards
3 players, but 2 can work too

Directions:

Two people will choose a card to put on their forehead facing out. (They do not look at their own card.)

The other person will say the product of the two numbers.

Each person will guess what factor is on their forehead using the product and the other visible factor.

Check your answer and then switch roles.

2 players: one card will be visibly placed on the table so both players can see it. One player says the product and the other player guesses the factor on their forehead.

Variations:

The game can also be used for addition by finding the sum rather than the product.

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