Candy

Multiplication
Third Grade Math 50 minutes Standards: 3.OA.A.1

by Jennifer Armstrong September 10, 2015

Delicious multiplication! In this sweet lesson, your students will learn how to relate multiplication
to repeated addition using candy counters.

Learning Objectives
Students will use equal groups and repeated addition to understand the concept of multiplication.

Materials and Preparation Key Terms:
Equal Groups worksheet (one per student) factor
Candy Math Recording Sheet (one per student) product
Small package of candy (one per student)
Pencil
Whiteboard
Interactive whiteboard, document camera, or projector

Attachments

DOC DOC

Candy Math Equal Groups

Recording

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Lesson
Introduction (1 minutes)
Tell students that today they will begin learning about multiplication.
Tell students that multiplication can be thought of as repeated addition of equal groups.

Explicit Instruction/Teacher Modeling (9 minutes)

Write an example multiplication problem on the board. For example: 4 x 3
Tell your students that the x (multiplication sign) means the same thing as groups of.
Explain this in the context of your example: This problem can be read as 4 groups of 3.
Explain that in this equation, the numbers 4 and 3 are each known as a factor. Define
factors as the numbers we can multiply together to get another number.
Draw 4 circles and put 3 dots in each circle, to illustrate 4 groups of 3.
Count each of the dots as a class. Once you're finished, write the entire equation on the
board: 4 x 3 = 12
Tell your students that the answer to a multiplication problem is known as the product.
Explain to your class that multiplication problems can be represented as repeated addition
of the same number. Using the white board, join the circles you drew with plus signs, and
write an addition equation that matches your example multiplication problem. For example:
3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12.
Discuss the benefits of multiplication (as opposed to addition) with your students. Some
questions to ask include: Why do we multiply? When would it be easier to multiply instead
of adding? Give an example to show when multiplication is easier than addition. For
example: Write the problem 9 x 8 on the board, and write 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 + 8 on
the board. Guide students in their thinking by asking, Which problem do you think would be
faster to solve?
Tell students that they will be using candy to figure out multiplication problems today.
Using an interactive whiteboard, document camera, or projector, display the Candy Math
Recording Sheet to the class.
Discuss the example on the Recording sheet.
Next, project the Equal Groups worksheet. Draw dots or candies to model solving the
example problem for your students.

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Guided Practice/Interactive Modeling (10 minutes)
Pass out a copy of Equal Groups and a copy of Candy Math Recording to each student,
along with a bag of candy.
Write an example multiplication problem on the board, such as 4 x 5.
Tell your students to make 4 groups of 5 by putting 5 candies each into 4 circles.
Ask students to solve the equation by counting how many total candies they used.
Once students have the answer, challenge them to solve this multiplication problem using
repeated addition. To do this, they must count how many candies are in each circle, and
add those numbers together. Students should produce 5 + 5 + 5 + 5.
Guide students to write this information on their worksheet.
Check to make sure students understand the relationship between multiplication, equal
groups, and repeated addition by asking questions such as: How are multiplication and
addition related? How can we use equal groups to solve a multiplication problem?

Independent Working Time (20 minutes)

On the board write five more multiplication problems that students can work on at their own
pace. For example: 3 x 6, 7 x 2, 2 x 4, 6 x 3, 8 x 3.
Circulate around the classroom as students are working to monitor accuracy.

Extend
Differentiation
Enrichment: Ask students if they see a relationship in the problems that they solved. Do
they see any products that are the same? Students should be able to determine that 3 x 6
and 6 x 3 have the same product. Let students know that this is known as the commutative
property of multiplication. Challenge students to figure out if this always works in
multiplication. If we switch factors, will the product remain the same? Give students a few
problems to try this with, such as: 4 x 3, 3 x 4; 2 x 5, 5 x 2; etc.
Support: Gather students who need extra support into a small group, and model how to
solve multiplication problems to 10, focusing mainly on repeated addition.

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Review
Assessment (9 minutes)
Pass out a blank sheet of paper to each student.
Write a multiplication problem on the board, such as 4 x 6.
Ask students to solve the equation by drawing a picture to represent equal groups. Instruct
them to include the related repeated addition problem.
Check each student's work to ensure understanding.

Review and Closing (1 minutes)

Tell students that today they learned two strategies that they can use to solve multiplication
problems.
Allow students to eat their candies.

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