Objective

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to confidently multiply numbers and solve multiplication problems.

Materials and Prep

• Pencil and paper
• Multiplication table (optional)

Activities

• Activity 1: Multiplication Bingo - Create a 4x4 grid on your paper and fill it with random numbers between 1 and 10. Roll two dice and multiply the numbers together. If you have the product on your grid, mark it. The first one to get four marks in a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) wins!
• Activity 2: Multiplication Scavenger Hunt - Look around your house for groups of objects. For example, find 3 packs of 4 crayons. Write down the multiplication problem and solve it. Keep finding different groups and solve their multiplication problems.
• Activity 3: Multiplication Story Problems - Create your own multiplication story problems. For example, "There are 4 friends and each friend has 3 cookies. How many cookies are there in total?" Write down the problem and solve it. Challenge yourself with different scenarios.

Talking Points

• When we multiply two numbers together, we are finding the total of adding one number to itself multiple times. For example, 3 x 4 means adding 3 four times: 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12.
• Multiplication can be thought of as a shortcut for repeated addition. It helps us quickly find the total when we have groups of the same size.
• Remember, the order of the numbers doesn't matter in multiplication. The product will be the same. For example, 3 x 4 is the same as 4 x 3, both equal to 12.
• When multiplying by 0, the answer is always 0. Zero times any number is 0.
• Multiplication can also be represented using arrays or grids. We can draw rows and columns to help visualize the groups and count the total.
• Using the multiplication table can be helpful to quickly find the product of two numbers. It shows all the possible combinations of numbers from 1 to 10.
• Practice your multiplication facts regularly to become faster and more confident in solving multiplication problems.