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Combining Equal Groups of Single Blocks


Focus
Multiplying with the Array mats

n this section students further explore multiplication by using Array mats. Just as combining and separating blocks on the number lines offered a visual model for addition and subtraction, the Array mats provide a powerful visual image of multiplication with the single blocks. Unlike area models, which can confuse students, the array model makes clear what is to be counted: the blocks. These mats make it easy for the students to organize the blocks, that is, to make the equal groups. The clear visual images of groups in rows and columns help students to discover relationships among paired multiplication examples (such as 3 6 and 6 3) and to find that the product is the same, regardless of the order of the factors. The mats also make it easy to extend work with the basic facts to even larger numbers, so students learn that the underlying concepts are the same, regardless of the size of the numbers. Multiplication, even with relatively small numbers, can yield very large numbers. This means that students can quickly accumulate large numbers of blocks on the Array mat. Despite the large quantity of blocks, students are able to count them easily and accurately by packing the blocks in holders.

Multiplying on the Array Mats


Ask students to use the single blocks to find 3 9. Once they have correctly found the answer, introduce the Array mats as another way to show multiplication. Have students work in small groups, each with one Array mat, single blocks, and empty holders. Again, have students model 3 9. One at a time, 3 students place 9 blocks on the mat and find the total. Each group can decide whether to place the blocks in rows of 9 or columns of 9; either is acceptable. Ask,

How would you write a multiplication sentence for what you just did on the Array mat?
(3 9 = 27) Next ask students to place 8 groups of 15 blocks on the mat, either in rows or columns. Have them pack to find the total. Students may be surprised to find that even with relatively small numbers like 8 and 15, they end up with a large number of blocks (120, in this case). Repeat with different examples. Over time, help students to connect the different terms we can use to describe the model:

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8 groups of 15 blocks 8 rows (or columns) of 15 blocks 8 by 15 array 8 times 15
When appropriate, introduce the terms factor and product.

Exploring Order in Multiplication


Working with the Array mats, students come to understand that changing the order of the factors does not change the product. While students can easily recognize this relationship with examples such as 3 2, they should also grasp that this is a general relationship that holds regardless of the size of the numbers. This is important for two reasons. First, it reduces the number of basic facts that need to be memorized. Second, it allows students to model a problem in whichever way is easier. The usefulness of this will become more apparent in base ten representations. For example, a problem about 100 groups of 2 is more easily represented by 2 blocks-of-100. This idea will be explored further when base ten models for multiplication are introduced. For now, have students show 6 rows of 13 on the mat. Ask,

Where do you see 6 groups of 13 on the mat? Who can see 13 groups of 6? Show us where.
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What multiplication example can you write for this array? What other multiplication sentence could you write? (6 13 or 13 6, the order doesnt matter) What can you tell me about the answers? (They are the same.) Why are they the same? (Both tell the number of blocks in the same array.)
Using two Array mats, have students make 5 rows of 11 on one mat and 11 rows of 5 on the other. Students then pack to find the total for each representation and write the corresponding number sentences. Repeat with other examples, helping students generalize that the row and column numbers can be interchanged.

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Repeat the procedure with other arrays. Then have students build 12 rows of 14 on their mats. Ask,

Do you have enough blocks here to make 14 rows of 12? How do you know?
Once students explain their thinking, have them rearrange the blocks to check.

Building Multiplication Tables


Over time, students can use the Array mats to build each multiplication table. If they are working on fours, for example, students can place one row of 4 blocks, then add another row of 4 blocks, and another 4 blocks, and so on, recording each new multiplication fact as they do so. When students can connect each fact with its physical representation on the Array mat, they can then summarize the facts in a 9-by-9 multiplication chart. Make sure students can connect this chart to the array model. They should realize, for example, that the number in the position (7, 9) corresponds to the number of blocks in a 7-by-9 array. As a class, students can build a large multiplication chart on very large graph paper, going up to 15 26, to match the Array mat. The goal is to have the students become confident in their ability to find the answers to any multiplication problem. You can divide this work among many groups of students. Over time, they can find the product of any two factors they choose by physically building the corresponding array. Students usually enjoy the excitement of seeing the chart being completed. Guide students to see the symmetry in the chart, which is a ref lection of the commutative (or order) property. It is, of course, important that students are eventually able to recall the basic facts up to 9 9. Students usually find it easier to learn facts with smaller numbers. They can then combine such facts to find answers for larger numbers. For example, if we want to find 8 5, and we know that 4 5 is 20, we can double 20 to make 8 groups of 5. The array model is helpful here.

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The idea that 8 5 = (4 5) + (4 5) illustrates the distributive property of multiplication. While students do not have to know this law formally, it is important for them to develop a conceptual understanding of it. It is the basis of the conventional algorithm used for multidigit multiplication.

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Practicing Key Ideas
Make an Array
Students work in pairs. One student names a number between 1 and 10; the other, a number between 10 and 20. Students use the two numbers to form an array. They then find the total number of blocks in any way that they choose and record two corresponding multiplication sentences.

What Else Do You Know?


Students work in pairs. One student makes an array of blocks with 9 or fewer rows and 9 or fewer blocks in each row. Students record the related multiplication fact. The other student then places a piece of string across the array, either horizontally or vertically. Students record the facts represented by the new arrays on each side of the string and relate them to their original multiplication sentence. Repeat the activity several times with students reversing roles.

Assessing Learning
1. With blocks, empty holders, and an Array mat available, ask,

If you make 6 groups of 12 blocks and then put them together, how many blocks will there be?
Does the student make the separate groups or use an Array mat? (Either is acceptable.) find the correct answer? 2. Present the example 14 5. Ask the student to make the corresponding array and find the answer. Then show the example 5 14, asking the student to find the answer and to explain his or her thinking. Does the student first build an array corresponding to 14 5 and find the correct product? immediately know that 5 14 has the same answer or build another array? clearly explain his or her thinking?

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