Children’s Strategies for  Multiplication

Text Box: The goal of this lesson is to view a variety of students all solving the same open multiplication problem and then use array models to represent each strategy. To begin, solve the following problem yourself and then anticipate several ways that students might approach it as well: 27 x 4 = ? Once you have anticipated various student solutions, click on the links to the left to see how various students in one third grade classroom chose to solve the problem. Then, click on the “Array Models” link. This page enables you to model each student’s strategy by using a dynamic array. Finally, click on the summary link to view a discussion of the mathematical implications of the array model and a follow-up exploration.

Introduction