Read, Multiply, Solve!

It’s the first day of school! Ava loved meeting all of her classmates. She is making them cards to take home! Can you help her multiply to count the cards she made?

We will read and solve multiplication word problems. We will read the problem, look for the important information, write a math sentence, choose a way to solve, and then solve and label the answer. Are you ready to help Ava count the cards she made?

Let’s read the first word problem. Ava drew 7 groups of 5 cats. How many cats did she draw? Now we need the important information. Here are the important numbers, the key word, and the question. 7 and 5 are the important numbers. We will use these numbers in a math sentence. The word “of” tells us to multiply. The question tells us we need the number of cats. The word “cats” should be the label for the answer.

7 and 5 are the factors, and we need to multiply. Our math sentence is 7 times 5! How should we solve this problem? Let’s get out our multiplication toolbox. We can skip count, draw a multiplication picture, use a number line, or add with a repeated addition sentence. Any strategy will work. We can choose the strategy that works for us!

Ava wants to skip count. There are 7 groups of 5. That means we need to skip count by 5 seven times. 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35. 35 is the last number of the skip-counting sequence. 7 times 5 equals 35! We can use the product to answer the question. How many cats did Ava draw?

Ava drew 35 cats!

Here’s another word problem. Make sure to read as the problem is said aloud!

Ava made 6 cards. She drew 4 flowers on each card. How many flowers did Ava draw? We need to find the important information. Do you see the important numbers, key word, and question?

That’s right! 6 and 4 are the important numbers. The word “each” tells us to multiply. The question is asking about the number of flowers. The word “flowers” is the label for the answer.

Can you use what we found to write a math sentence?

Yes! 6 times 4. Ava wants to try using a multiplication picture. We need 6 circles with 4 dots in each circle. Like this! Can you use the picture to find the product? Remember to count the dots or add the groups of 4!

Great job! 6 times 4 equals 24. We need to label our answer using the question. How many flowers did Ava draw?

24! Ava drew 24 flowers.

You did a great job helping Ava read, multiply, and solve! She is so excited to give her classmates pictures to take home!