ALEX Learning Activity

  

Arranging Desks: Multiplication and Division Part I

A Learning Activity is a strategy a teacher chooses to actively engage students in learning a concept or skill using a digital tool/resource.

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  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Stephanie Carver
System:Cullman City
School:Cullman City Board Of Education
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 2911
Title:
Arranging Desks: Multiplication and Division Part I
Digital Tool/Resource:
Arranging Desks Activity
Web Address – URL:
Overview:

This learning activity is a great introductory activity that allows the students to build equal groups using arrays. Students will build designs of desk arrangements in a classroom using counters or unifix cubes. Students must take 24 desks and divide them into equal groups to create a classroom desk arrangement. Students will write a multiplication and division equation for each arrangement. This will help students see the relationship between multiplication and division.

  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
Mathematics
MA2019 (2019)
Grade: 3
3. Solve word situations using multiplication and division within 100 involving equal groups, arrays, and measurement quantities; represent the situation using models, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number.

Unpacked Content
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
When given a variety of word problems involving multiplication and division within 100,
  • Write and evaluate multiplication and division expressions to represent the word situation.
  • Explain and justify solutions using a variety of representations (equal groups, arrays, area models, number lines, tape diagrams).
  • Use the relationship between multiplication and division to write equations with an unknown factor.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Equal groups
  • Arrays
  • Measurement division
  • Factor
  • Product
  • Quotient
  • Partitive division
  • Represent
  • Unknown
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Multiplication situations can be related to division contexts by identifying the total number of groups and the number of items in a group.
  • Strategies to solve problems involving multiplication and division.
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Use models, drawings, and equations to represent a multiplication or division situation.
  • Use symbols to represent unknown quantities in equations.
  • Solve word situations with multiplication and division within 100 involving equal groups, arrays, and measurement quantities.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • a word problem with an unknown product is a multiplication problem, and a word problem with an unknown number of groups or an unknown group size can be thought of as a division problem or a multiplication problem with an unknown factor.
Diverse Learning Needs:
Essential Skills:
Learning Objectives:
M.3.3.1: Demonstrate computational understanding of multiplication and division by solving authentic problems with multiple representations using drawings, words, and/or numbers.
M.3.3.2: Identify key vocabulary words to solve multiplication and division word problems.
M.3.3.3: Solve word problems that call for addition of three whole numbers whose sum is less than or equal to 20, e.g., by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.
M.3.3.4: Recall basic multiplication facts.
M.3.3.5: Add and subtract within 20.
M.3.3.6: Represent repeated addition, subtraction, and equal groups using manipulatives.

Prior Knowledge Skills:
  • Define pair, odd and even.
  • Recall doubles addition facts with sums to 20.
  • Apply signs + and = to actions of joining sets.
  • Model written method for composing equations.
  • Skip count by 2s.
  • Represent addition and subtraction with objects, pictures, fingers, or sounds within twenty.
  • Understand addition as putting together and subtraction as taking from.
  • Establish one-to-one correspondence between numbers and objects.
  • Rote count to 20.
  • Notice same/different and some/all.
  • Establish one-to-one correspondence between numbers and objects.
  • Point to matching or similar objects.

Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
M.AAS.3.3 Use strategies (arrays, equal groups, manipulatives, etc.) to model multiplication and division equations to find an unknown number.


Learning Objectives:

Students will solve a word problem using multiplication and division involving equal groups and arrays. 

Students will represent the problem using models and drawings.  

  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
Before/Engage
Activity:

The teacher will display the Arranging Desks word problem for the class. The teacher will read the word problem and allow the students to explore different ways to arrange 24 classroom desks. Students will record their array models on their paper and write a multiplication and division equation for each design. 

 

As the students are building their designs, the teacher should walk around the room making sure the students are creating equal groups and identifying the relationship between multiplication and division. This activity is completely student-centered. The teacher is only the facilitator, guiding students through questioning when needed. This introductory activity will allow students of all abilities to explore multiplication and division. 

Assessment Strategies:

The teacher will observe the students' models, drawings, and equations as a formative assessment. 


Advanced Preparation:

The teacher should read over the Arranging Desks word problem.

Each student will need something to write on and 24 counters or unifix cubes.

Variation Tips (optional):

You may extend this activity by asking the students to build desk arrangements with other numbers.

If a student struggles with dividing 24 counters, you may ask them to arrange 10, 12, or 16 desks. 

Notes or Recommendations (optional):

This activity can stand alone or be used as a Before/Engage activity for the following learning activities:

Music Concert: Multiplication and Division Part II (During activity)

Connecting Multiplication and Division: Part III (After activity)

  Keywords and Search Tags  
Keywords and Search Tags: arrays, division, equal groups, multiplication