Lesson 3: Arrays and Equal Groups

Ask your child to count from 0 to 40 by 2, 5, and 10. When he is done, explain that he can use skip counting to count objects in arrays. Tell him to draw a 5 by 6 array (5 rows, 6 columns) on the whiteboard. Now, say, "Using another color, circle the groups of 5 that you see." Once he's circled the groups of 5 (each column for a total of 6 groups), show him how to count them by 5. Say, "Since you already know how to skip count by 2, 5, and 10, you can use this skill to find products. You now know that 6 groups of 5 is 30 or 6 times 5 equals 30."

Your child will now complete the "Arrays and Products" sheet by first matching each array to its corresponding multiplication sentence and then finding the product for each sentence. Remind him to use what he knows about counting by 2, 5, and 10 to figure out the products.

Your child will re-watch the beginning of the read aloud of Amanda Bean's Amazing Dream at the following web link. This time, he will stop the video along the way as he looks for the specified arrays, writes in words what each array shows (__groups of__), creates a multiplication sentence based on each array, and finds the product for each sentence. Give him the "Arrays in Amanda Bean's Amazing Dream" sheets, and tell him to follow the directions on them. Explain that once he writes down each multiplication sentence, he can skip count or count the given objects either on the video or in his array drawing to figure out the product.