Standard #: MA.3.A.1.1 (Archived Standard)

This online game replicates the popular "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" format, using multiplication facts. It's a fun way for kids to practice multiplication!

In this lesson, students will look at different carnival rides and will determine which ride will make the most profit by looking at factors such as number of tickets per ride, the cost per ticket, the length of the ride, the number of hours the ride is open and the cost to operate the ride. Students will need to use different operations in order to solve the tasks and will be required to do multi-steps.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Students will be able to use counters to create equal groups and write multiplication equations to represent these representations.

In this lesson students will model partitive division through the real-world activity of a pet store owner.

Students work together to create arrays to represent given numbers.

This is a hands-on lesson for introducing and practicing building arrays to create models that represent the distributive property of multiplication, and then using those arrays to draw models of the equations they represent.

In this hands-on math exploration, students will use knowledge of estimation and multiplication to develop strategies for estimating how many seeds are in a medium-sized pumpkin.

In this lesson students will model multiplication using tree diagrams based in a real-world setting of a yogurt shop.

This narrative is from the introductory lesson in Maryann Wickett, Susan Ohanian, and Marilyn Burns's book, Teaching Arithmetic: Lessons for Introducing Division, Grades 3–4 (Math Solutions Publications,2002). This book is a revision of Math By All Means, Unit Division, Grades 3–4." (from Math Solutions Professional Development)

This four-lesson unit from NCTM's Illuminations has students explore several meaning and representations of multiplication (number line, equal sets, arrays, and balanced equations). Other multiplication topics covered include: the commutative (order) property, the results of multiplying by 1 and 0, and the inverse property. Students will write and solve multiplication story problems, and convert word problems into equations. A bibliography of children's literature with a focus on multiplication is provided, which can be integrated so that students can connect through literature.

Individual Lessons

• Students are shown how to generate products on a number line, highlighting the measurement aspect of addition. After some practice, they are asked to predict and then verify sums, and are also introduced to the commutative property.
• Lesson 2: Exploring Equal Sets
• Students explore the set model for multiplication. They find products using equal sets and present their results in a table. Next students apply their knowledge about multiplication in the creation of pictographs.
• Lesson 3: Modeling Multiplication With Streets and Avenues
• The array model of multiplication lays the foundation for the later study of area, and in this lesson, students will create arrays of the factors of 4 and 6 using toothpicks as representations of streets and avenues. The teacher will ask how many stoplights would be needed to fill each intersection. Zero and one will also be used as factors. Finally they will write their results as multiplication problems.
• Lesson 4: Balance Beam Discoveries
• The balance beam model of multiplication is examined in this lesson, along with another important relationship, the inverse of multiplication. This will lead naturally into the representation of multiplication facts as equations. Students will also practice multiplication facts by playing the Product Game.

Using a virtual manipulative, children construct combinations of different colored shirts and pants to help Bobbie Bear, who is planning a vacation and wants to know how many different outfits he will be able to make from these combinations.