
Here is how I break it down.
Day One Plans
Where
Do I Start?????
I start with giving my students a
pre-printed array that is a fact I know they won’t have memorized like 5x16. I ask my
students to work with a partner to figure out the product. I give them two minutes to come up with an
answer. Some of them will count the
tiles and get it right, but we will end up with several answers.
We will spend the majority of the
rest of the class period trying to solve tougher multiplication problems using
arrays and breaking them apart.
How
to Break Apart Arrays
Distributive
Property
The printables that are shown are available for purchase in this Distributive Property of Multiplication resource pack, but they can also be easily made using grid paper, index cards, paper protector sheets, and a good old fashioned pen and paper. It's how I make most of the additional resources in my classroom (until I have enough time to make it on the computer).
Day
Two Plans
Review
with Manipulatives
I start the day with a quick review
of breaking apart our multiplication facts using anything – beans, pencil and
paper, color tiles, dry erase.
Distributive
Property on Paper
Printables available on Teachers Pay Teachers |
Then we move right into using
Distributive Property dry erase mats and pre-printed multiplication fact
cards. This helps me differentiate with
groups and individuals when needed.
My biggest tip here is to have the students CIRCLE the factor they are
going to break apart. It is a great
visual reminder.
Mini
Books
Click here if you are interested in purchasing these printouts. |
I also print out some grid paper
and have my students cut out arrays. On
the top of the book we show the steps and on the bottom of the paper, we
physically cut apart the array. The mini
books are helpful because they are only looking at one “problem” at a time and
they don’t tend to get overwhelmed.
Making the cuts take some planning so I encourage them to write out
their two factors and circle the one they are breaking apart before cutting the
array.
Color
the Arrays
Another method we use to practice is to color code everything! As you can see in the picture, we write
the factors in the large array in pink and decide which one to break apart by
circling it. Then we use two different
colors to show how we broke it apart both in the array and in the number
sentence.
It is my sincere hope that after reading this post, you have gained some new inspiration and confidence for teaching the distributive property of multiplication. You have the tools (beans and your ingenuity) to make it work, but if you want some printable resources (because let's face it - teaching is tiring), you can find loads of help in this Distributive Property of Multiplication resource pack.