I don’t mean to be a party pooper, but school isn’t done…yet! I know you’re ready to kick back but there’s still a bit more learning to be done in the classroom. Hang. In. There!
So I have to ask, are you working on multiplication? And more importantly, do you feel like you have the activities you need to teach it? If your answers are yes and no, respectively, then I want to talk about a few multiplication activities that I think you’ll love. Each of these activities incorporates hands-on experiences because it’s one of the single most important strategies for teaching and practicing multiplication. Students need to engage with the problems so that it’s easier to solve them. And manipulatives are true lifesavers!
Today, I’m sharing 5 multiplication activities that you can begin right now and I have included a FREEBIE multiplication activity that you get started with right now! All of the activities I’m sharing with you are from my Introduction to Multiplication resource. You can have a deeper look at that right HERE.
Let’s get started!
How often are you pulling out flap books when you’re teaching math? Flap books are used more widely in our ELA instruction but they have a beneficial place in math, too! When teaching multiplication, students can use the books to break down their equations. On the top of the flap is a problem to solve and under the flap, students can use images to create equal groups or some other strategy to solve their equation. This is an easy but effective multiplication activity.
Modeling multiplication word problems is probably one of my favorite activities for teaching this skill! It greatly improves comprehension when students can see the problem being acted out or in real-time. Using hand printables and poms, students can create equal groups in each hand and fill in the blanks to create their word problems. Then use the model to solve! Or you can use whatever manipulatives you have on hand! They could use their real hands to model, too.
Do you ever make a literacy connection with your multiplication activities? It can be such an effective way to practice comprehension, reading, problem-solving, etc.! There are a few different ways you can accomplish this: having students work together to produce evidence for their answers, using word problems to hone their reading skills, having students discover the “why” behind the solution, and more! Consider these strategies as you practice multiplication with your students.
For this example, students get to build their manipulatives (cupcakes), choose how many to give, fill in the blank as they read through the word problem, and break down how they got to their answer. Pair this activity with If you Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff, because if you give a cat a cupcake… he’ll ask for some sprinkles to go with it! Students create their very own multiplication situation after reading the story as a class.
I love using dice in math! It’s a great way for students to play around with multiple numbers at once. Not to mention, students are more inclined to solve problems when there’s a little bit of mystery involved. Students will roll the die twice to get two numbers for their multiplication problems. They will use pictures to help solve them. It’s simple but the use of dice helps to keep students’ attention! {Pro Tip: Always opt for foam dice in the classroom! Like THESE from Amazon. (Affiliate Link)}
If you’re not into dice, you can get this same effect using a spin game. Instead of having students roll for their numbers, they will spin for each number. And you don’t even need a spinner, just use a paper clip instead! Math games are my FAVE. They are a much-needed break from all the worksheets. If you love them as much as I do, check out THIS post for more ideas.
When it comes to teaching multiplication, nothing beats the use of arrays. It’s a timeless, classic multiplication activity that will always provide structure and understanding to any math problem. I like to make it more interesting by allowing students to use stickers to make them!
Don’t let your array activities get too boring. You can find inexpensive packs of stickers with cute themes that your students will love! Have them use the stickers to create their arrays or create sticker array cards. Then, students can use the recording sheet to recreate the arrays, write the equation, and solve.
The most important step to teaching multiplication is making sure your students have the basics down! In this free multiplication activity, students will sort equations for the property of zero and property of one rule into flap books. They will get tons of practice in modeling their equations by beginning with the easiest way to solve them— Draw and Multiply! And we can’t forget about odd and even. Students will be identifying odd and even products from the multiplication equations, too.
If you’re just starting multiplication and you need a little help kicking things off with your students, you can check out all of the activities mentioned in this post inside my Introduction to Multiplication unit.
Hey, y’all! My name is Amy Lemons and I am passionate about providing students with both engaging and effective standards-based Math and ELA lessons.
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3 Responses
I almost cried when I saw your email in my box. I have state math testing next week and my kiddos are just not getting the multiplication. These fun activities are just what they need to get them in the groove!. Love the Shark stuff too. You must be a dream of a teacher.
I almost cried when I saw your email in my box. I have state math testing next week and my kiddos are just not getting the multiplication. These fun activities are just what they need to get them in the groove!. Love the Shark stuff too. You must be a dream of a teacher.
This makes my heart happy!!