Objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to understand how to use multiplication to solve geometric problems and apply multiplication to calculate the area of different shapes.

Materials and Prep

Materials: pencil, paper, ruler, and colored pencils. Prep: Familiarity with basic multiplication facts (1-10).

Activities

1. Multiplication and Shapes: Draw different shapes (rectangle, square, triangle) and practice using multiplication to find the area of each shape. For example, for a rectangle with sides of 5 and 3, you would multiply 5 by 3 to find the area.

2. Create Your Own Shape: Draw a unique shape and calculate its area using multiplication. Then, use colored pencils to color the different sections of the shape.

3. Real-World Multiplication: Look around your home and find objects with different shapes. Calculate the area of these objects using multiplication. For example, if you have a book with dimensions 4 by 6 inches, you would multiply 4 by 6 to find the area of the cover.

Fourth Grade Talking Points

• "Multiplication helps us find the total when we have groups of the same size. We can use multiplication to find the total number of squares in a rectangle or the total number of triangles in a shape."
• "When we multiply, we are finding the total area of a shape. The area tells us how much space the shape covers. We can use multiplication to calculate the area of different shapes like squares, rectangles, and triangles."
• "We can use multiplication to solve real-world problems. For example, if we know the length and width of a table, we can multiply those numbers to find the total area of the table's surface."