Multiplying Madness

Last week, the 3^rd grade mathematicians learned about and practiced multiplication through a variety of games and activities. First, we reviewed the meaning of multiplication through small group discussions. Students came to the discussion with a great deal of background knowledge and insight.  Students recalled that multiplication is the same as repeated addition; that it totals the number of objects in a certain number of equal groups; that multiplication and division are opposite operations and that the multiplication sign itself means “groups of.” We then explored through various examples why it is true that the answer of a multiplication problem remains the same when the order of factors is switched.

Following this exploration, students were eager to put their understanding of multiplication to practice by playing math games. In pairs, students first played Circles and Stars, which required students to model multiplication problems using groups of objects.  Next, Hit the Target added an extra challenge, as students applied strategies to think about which multiplication sentence would come closest to hitting increasing target totals.