Learning Coach — Problem Solving: Using Multiplication Strategies
Objectives
Students will:
Apply multiplication strategies to solve word problems.
Skills Needed
Students must be able to:
Choose a multiplication strategy.
Read and solve multiplication word problems.
Materials Needed
Students will need:
crayons or colored pencils
pen or pencil
Keywords
multiplication
multiplication strategies
problem solving
Let's Learn!
How do we use multiplication strategies to solve real-world problems?
Goal:
Goal:
Think About It!
Goal: Identify the steps to solve a
multiplication word problem.
Let’s read about Ava’s cards!
Ava has 6 piles of cards. There are 3 cards in each pile.
How many cards does Ava have?
This is a word problem. It tells a story with
math and words! The word problem has important numbers, a key
word that tells us what to do, and a question. The key word will
tell us to multiply. Here are some of the key words that you
will see in a multiplication word problem.
Multiplication Key Words
each
by
of
per
in all
total
We will follow these steps to solve a word problem. Read through
the steps below!
Problem-Solving Steps
Read the problem.
Look for important information.
Write a math sentence.
Choose a way to solve.
Solve and label your answer.
Click through the slides below to see how to solve a word
problem using multiplication strategies!
1. Read the problem.
Read the problem again.
Ava has 6 piles of cards. There are 3 cards in each
pile. How many cards does Ava have?
It is a good idea to reread the problem at least two or
three times.
2. Look for important information.
Look through the problem for the important numbers. We
will highlight them. Then look for the key word and the
question. We will circle the key word. We will underline
the question. Click Show Me to see!
Ava has
6
piles of cards. There are
3
cards in each pile.
How many cards does Ava have?
6 and 3 are the important numbers. The word
“each” tells us to multiply. The question is the
last sentence in the problem.
3. Write a math sentence.
6 and 3 are the important numbers.
Ava has
6
piles of cards. There are
3
cards in each pile.
How many cards does Ava have?
___ × ___ = ?
We will write a
multiplication sentence to solve a
problem. The important numbers are the
factors. Factors are
the numbers we multiply to get a
product. We need to find the number of
groups and the number in each group.
factorfactorproduct
________ × ________ = ________
number
of groupsnumber in
each grouptotal number
________ × ________ = ________
6 is the number of
groups. The number of groups is usually first in the
problem. 3 is the
number in each group. The number in each group is usually in the same
sentence as the key word. The key word can help us
decide if we are adding, subtracting, multiplying, or
dividing. Each is a multiplication key
word.
Question:
What multiplication sentence can we write?
6×3 = ?
4. Choose a way to solve.
Here are some multiplication strategies we can use to
find a product! They are like tools in a toolbox. You
get to pick the one that works for you!
Click image to enlarge
For this problem, we will use a number line.
6×3 = ?
Click Show Me to see!
There are 6 groups of 3. We need to skip count
by 3 six times.
5. Solve and label your answer.
We used a number line to show 6 times 3.
Ava has
6
piles of cards. There are
3
cards in each pile.
How many cards does Ava have?
6×3 = ?
What is the product? Remember, the product is the
answer. Use the number line to find it! The product goes
where the ? is. Click Show Me to see!
6×3 =
18
The product is where the last jump lands. It is
18!
We need to write the product with a
label. The
label answers the question in the
problem. It is the word that tells us the item that goes
with the product we found. We will use the word “cards”
as the label for the product 18.
Question:
How many cards does Ava have?
18 cards
Slide: 1/5
We can solve multiplication word problems with the steps and
strategies we learned.