Help your students become confident with multiplication and division concepts by regularly having them make and calculate equal groups, rows and arrays!
Here is a warm-up activity you can use at the small group math activity table before your main lesson. It will encourage students to make equal rows and calculate the total.
By having them make several different arrays - and modifying it rather than clearing it completely before they start another - they may also begin to see connections and relationships between sets of numbers.
Mice Multiplication Math Warm Up
- use the mouse craft from this post
- students roll a dice to get a number for each row (or use number tiles or a spinner)
- students make 5 equal rows of this number and find the total
- option: record with words, numerals or a picture in your math journals
Let's take a look with an example:
Here the student has rolled a 3, so makes 5 rows of 3 and totals 15.
Now the student rolls a 4. The student modifies each row to now include 4 counters.
- Encourage them to use a different color.
- Ask them to say each row: e.g. 4 and 4 and 4 and 4 and 4 makes 20
- Can they see that it is now just one extra 5 with the pink counters?
Observe and listen to see how students are working and thinking about numbers as the arrays change.
Find more math warm ups through the website!
Find more math warm ups through the website!