Chelsey Jenkins

Grade 5
TITLE/TYPE OF ACTIVITY

Exploring Prime and Composite Numbers with Rectangles

CONTEXT OF ACTIVITY
composite numbers.

This activity would begin a unit investigating prime and

CONCEPTS TO BE COVERED This activity uses childrens literature, rectangular arrays

and colored tile to investigate how rectangles relate to factors of numbers; as well as how factors
of numbers relate to if a number is prime or composite.
RELATED VIRGINIA STANDARDS OF LEARNING
5.3 The student will
a) identify and describe the characteristics of prime and composite numbers; and
b) identify and describe the characteristics of even and odd numbers.
LESSON PLAN OBJECTIVES
1. Students will identify prime and composite numbers using factors.
2. Students will construct rectangular arrays from tile and use the arrays to classify counting
numbers according to their number of factors.
ASSESSMENT PLAN
3. Objective 1: Students will use the rectangular arrays they construct the factors they find
for each rectangle (the dimensions) to determine if a number is prime or composite.
4. Objective 2: Students will work in groups to construct a total of 19 rectangular arrays.
The students will then fill in Activity Sheet II-3 and use the dimensions of the rectangular
arrays to determine the factors of that number. For example, a rectangle with the
dimensions of 1 x 2, shows that the number 2 has the factors of 1 and 2. 2 is considered a
prime number because 2 has exactly two factors. The students will have to identify the
numbers 1 19 as either prime or composite numbers on Activity Sheet II-3.
MATERIALS NEEDED
140 tile for each group of 4 students
Activity Sheet II-3
Colored cubes (for challenge)
A copy of You Can Count on Monsters
ARTICLE REACTION
I chose this article because I wanted to learn more about how children viewed learning the
difference between prime and composite numbers. In this article the students created rectangular
arrays to determine factors of numbers, which is the same process my students will perform in
this lesson. The student in this article one student, Ryan, was left asking the same question that I
was: why is the number 1 not considered a prime number? Often we give students the
explanation of, 1 is a special number, and just expect students to take our word for it. It was
great to see the teacher in this article admit that he did not know why 1 was not a prime number
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and explore a way to find an explanation. Teachers cannot always know the answers, but when
we foster a students questions and help them discover a true meaning for, why? we are
helping to develop students who think for themselves and can have a true understanding for a
concept. This article also gave me a great insight as to what type of reactions my students will
have when I teach this lesson.
MODIFICATIONS
Challenge:
In groups of two, students who finish early will be given a handful of red, yellow, blue, and
green colored cubes. Red will be worth 2, yellow worth 3, blue be worth 4, and green be worth
11 for the sake of this lesson. Student 1 will be told to pick any four cubes and calculate their
product. Their partner will have to try and figure out the cubes the other student used. Once the
students have practiced a few of these, student 1 will add black cubes into their equation. The
black cube will represent 1. Student 2 will have to try and figure out which cubes student 1 used.
Soon the students will realize that there is no way to know how many black cubes were used,
which helps students realize why 1 cannot be considered a prime number.
Remediation:
For students who are struggling to recognize the connection between factors and prime and
composite numbers, provide a copy of You Can Count on Monsters. This book allows the
students to explore the concepts of factoring and the role of prime and composite numbers
without the constricted parameters of the construction activity.

Before
These students are just beginning to learn about prime and composite numbers. Many of them
showed in the pre-assessment they completed prior to this lesson that they were unsure of what a
prime or composite number was.
1. Divide students into groups of 4. Distribute tile to each group. Explain what is meant by a
rectangular array of tile. (There should be no openings or gaps). Have each student in the
group take 12 tile and form those tile into a rectangular array. This will take a lot of space
so students will be allowed to work on the floor or back table if necessary.
a. There are three possible rectangular arrays of 12 tiles: 1 by 12, 2 by 6, and 3 by 4.
Make sure to be clear that for the sake of this lesson, a 3 by 4 and a 4 by 3
rectangle are the same because one can fit exactly on top of the other.
Question 1: How can we have rectangles that look different but use the same number of
tiles?
Possible student answers

Teacher follow-up questions

This rectangle is 12 wide but this one is

only 3 wide.

What is the length for those two rectangles?

What do we call length and width of a
shape?

They are different rectangles.

What makes these rectangles different?

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2. Make sure each group of students builds all three 12 tile rectangles. Now ask them to add
to their collection all rectangles that can be made with fewer than 12 tile. Have them keep
the entire collection on display to eliminate duplicates.
a. There will be 19 different rectangles using a total of 139 tile.
3. Ask each group to now arrange their rectangles in numerical order by the number of tiles
used. Arranging the rectangles in order of the numbers they represent will make the
following activities easier.
During
1. Give each student Activity Sheet II-3. Lead the students through the first few entries
on the chart so there is no confusion. Have the rectangles displayed on the Smart
Board and encourage the students to refer to their rectangle.
Question 2:
What are factors of numbers?
Possible student answers

Teacher follow-up questions

The numbers used to make a number

How do we make a number? What

operation are you referring to?

The numbers we multiply to get another

number.

Are there more than one set of numbers that

can multiple to make a number?

2. Define a factor of a number as one of the dimensions of a rectangle for that number.
In example, a factor of 12 is 3, 4 and a 3 by 4 rectangle uses 12 tiles.
3. Ask the students for observations about the numbers and their rectangles.
Question 3:
What can you observe about numbers by looking at your pictures?
Possible student answers

Teacher follow-up questions

Some numbers have only 1 rectangle.

Why do you think that number only has one

rectangle while others have multiple?

Some numbers have squares.

Do the squares show something different than

the rectangles about that number?

a. One way to give credibility to student observations is to summarize and list

them on the Smart Board. Student responses could be: some numbers have
only 1 rectangle and certain numbers have squares.
4. Have the students rearrange their rectangles into three groups: (1) Those with exactly
one factor (2) Those with exactly two factors (3) and those with more than two
factors. Find other numbers who rectangles belong in groups (2) and (3).

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5.
Question 4:
Is it possible to find any other number, like 1, which has exactly one representation
with identical dimensions?
Possible student answers

Teacher follow-up questions

No, these all have different dimensions

like 2 and 1.

What does this tell us about the number

1?

Yes, 3 only has 1 representation.

Are the dimensions the same on the

rectangle for number 3?

a. There will be no other numbers grouped with 1, because any other numbers
with identical dimensions are squares that have at least two rectangles.
i. Students will be able to explore why 1 is special during the
challenge problem if they finish early.
6. Tell the students that numbers with exactly two factors are called prime numbers and
that numbers with more than two factors are called composite numbers. The number
one is therefore neither a prime nor composite number.
Question 5: Is the number 1 prime or composite?
Possible student answers

Teacher follow-up questions

It is prime because there is only one

rectangle for it.

Can you multiply 1 by anything else and

get 1, other than itself?

I dont think it is either prime or

composite.

Why do you think the number 1 is

special?

After
7. Have them complete Activity Sheet II-3 for the numbers 13-20 and then put a P or C
in the last column to indicate if the number is prime or composite.
8. With the entire class, trace on a piece of grid paper letting each square represent a tile.
Start with 1 by rectangles and move systematically to 2-by and 3-by rectangles.
i. 1 by 24
ii. 2 by 12
iii. 3 by 8
9. Ask the students to sketch rectangles for these numbers: 24, 31, 72, 144; and
a. Determine which are prime
b. Record all the factors of each number
10. Looking at the tile rectangles or diagrams, ask the students
Question 6:
What do you notice about the number of factors for any square?
Possible student answers

Teacher follow-up questions

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This square is two wide and two tall

What do we call a number that is the

same number times the same number?

The squares have an odd number of

factors

Why is there an odd number of factors

only for the squares?

a. Square numbers will always have an odd number of factors. Each rectangle,
except the square, contributes two factors. The square array contributes only
one factor.
Question 7:
What, in your own words, does prime and composite mean?
Possible student answers

Teacher follow-up questions

A prime number has less rectangles.

What does the rectangles you created tell

you about the factors of that number?

A composite number has more numbers

you can multiply.

What are these numbers called?

Smart Board
Factors from SMART Exchange (http://exchange.smarttech.com/). The objective of this Smart
Board activity is for students to use arrays to identify prime and composite numbers. After
practicing with the rectangular arrays, this lesson introduces the divisibility test as another way
for students to determine if a number has factors.
NCTM Process Standards
Problem Solving
Students utilize problem solving skills when they are using tiles to produce rectangular arrays
using 12 or less tiles. Problem solving is also utilized when students have to use the dimensions
of their rectangular arrays to determine if the number the array represents is a prime or composite
number. This categorization needed in the assessment task requires students to use problem
solving skills.
Reasoning & Proof
Reasoning and proof are used when the students share their rationales for the category they put
each number representation in (prime or composite). The challenge task also requires students to
prove that the number 1 cannot be considered prime and reason why that is so.
Communication
Students use communication skills when they are sharing ideas with their small group as well as
when they share observations they found in square arrays with the whole class. The guided
questions throughout the lesson encourage students to share their ideas with their group using
mathematical thought.
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Connections
Students make connections with the rectangular arrays they build in their small groups to their
previous knowledge of rectangles, measuring, and finding area in rectangles. The students
connect that the factors they find in the rectangles they build show whether a number is prime or
composite.
Representation
The created rectangular arrays the students build in their small groups out of colored tile provide
students with concrete examples of using their prior knowledge of rectangles and the concepts of
which to define whether a number is prime or composite.

References
Bennett, A., & Maier, E. (1988). Math and the mind's eye. Salem, Ore.: Math Learning Center.
Juraschek, B., & Evans, A. (1997). Ryan's Primes. Teaching Children Mathematics, 3(9), 474474.
Schwartz, R. (2010). You can count on monsters: The first 100 numbers and their characters.
Natick, Mass.: A.K. Peters.

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