Families of Multiplication Facts

S: Look at all of the party favors! I’m so excited for our end-of-the-year party!

T: I’m excited too! Will you help me fill the party bags with favors?

S: Yes! That sounds like fun! How many favors are there? How many go in each bag?

T: Those are great questions! We will use multiplication to find out how many favors there are. We will use division to find out how many favors go in each bag.

S: Division? What is that?

T: Division is breaking things up into equal groups. It is like multiplication in reverse!

S: Oh, I see! When we multiply, we put equal groups together. When we divide, we take them apart again!

T: You’ve got it! Because multiplication and division are related, they create fact families.

S: Just like the ones for addition and subtraction!

T: Yes! Let’s try to create one together. Here are 4 rows of 3 cards. How many are there?

S: Hmm, that is 4 times 3. 4 times 3 is 12!

T: Correct! 4 times 3 equals 12 is one fact in the family. This family is made up of 4, 3, and 12. 12 goes at the top of the triangle because it is the total. The other two numbers go on the bottom of the triangle. Let’s use these numbers to find the other multiplication sentence.

S: 3 times 4 also equals 12! I switched the places of these two numbers.

T: Excellent! 12 is at the end of both multiplication sentences. In division, the total number is at the beginning. This is the number we are going to break up into equal groups.

S: Both division sentences start with 12. Then I can put the other two numbers here and here. Like this?

T: You did it! This is a multiplication and division fact family. Now we can put 3 cards in each of these 4 bags.

Here are 3 rows of 6 bookmarks. How many are there?

S: 3 times 6 is...18! That means the numbers in the triangle are 3, 6, and 18!

T: Yes! Now we need one more multiplication sentence. Can you find the other multiplication sentence in this family?

S: I will switch the places of these two numbers. 6 times 3 equals 18! Now we need two division sentences, right?

T: That is right! Remember, the sentences will need the total number at the beginning.

S: Okay. 18 divided by 3 is 6. And 18 divided by 6 is 3!

T: Excellent work! Now we can put 6 bookmarks in each of these 3 bags.

We have one more favor to put in the bags. Here are 10 rows of 2 stickers. How many are there?

S: 10 times 2 is...20! This fact family has 10, 2, and 20. Can I fill out the rest of the multiplication and division sentences?

T: Of course! Go for it!

S: We already have 10 times 2 equals 20. So 2 times 10 equals 20 too! 20 is the total, so it goes here. 20 divided by 10 is...2! That means 20 divided by 2 equals 10! Wow!

T: That was fantastic! We can put 2 stickers in each of these 10 bags.

You did a great job multiplying and dividing to create fact families. We are ready to start the party!

S: Hooray! I can’t wait!