It is important for students to equate multiplication with repeated addition. They need to understand that multiplication is an efficient way of adding over and over again. They also need to understand that they are repeatedly adding equal sets or groups. The concepts of multiplication and division should be taught with a strong understanding of putting together and taking apart equal sets. This activity with second grade allows students to use the Kidspiration program to create pictures and then to relate adding repeatedly one attribute of the creature to multiplication. Because the attributes are ridiculous (such as three legs or five eyes), the students easily identify the set they are adding repeatedly. In the examples, the students relate the multiplication and repeated addition number sentences. They also include the word and concept of "sets," integral to the rest of elementary and higher math. This activity is easy to differentiate. Some students will need to stick to easier numbers, such as in the example above in which the student skip counts by 2. Other students can choose trickier numbers such as sets of 8. Students could easily turn these examples into word problems.
| Download Kidspiration Files. This file will only work in Kidspiration.
|
Indictors:
6.2.5.4 model repeated addition
(multiplication) and sharing equally
(division) in a variety of ways,
including dividing sets into two,
three, or four equal parts.
6.2.4.3 relate mathematical situations
involving multiplication and division
to symbolic notation and write
number sentences.
6.3.5.3 model and explain multiplication in a variety of
ways, including rectangular arrays and skip counting.
