Skip Count by 2s

It’s game night! These friends are ready to play. First, they need to make sure all of the pieces are there so everyone can play. We will multiply to count the pieces!

We will skip count by 2s to help us multiply. Do you remember how to skip count by 2s? Take a look!

2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20!

Skip counting by 2s creates a sequence of even numbers. We will look for even numbers so that we can skip count by 2s!

Let’s start with the dice. How many are there? We can skip count by 2s if there is an even number of dice. Let’s try to put them in groups of 2.

It worked! There are 2 groups of 2.

We want to multiply to find the number of dice. We will use an array to help us. Let’s replace each die with a dot, like this.

Now we can see the rows and the number in each row. This will help us find the repeated addition and multiplication sentences we need to solve.

There are 2 rows with 2 dots in each row. The number of rows is the number of addends. That means there are 2 addends. The number of dots in each row is the repeated addend. That means 2 is the repeated addend. 2 plus 2 is the repeated addition sentence.

What about the multiplication sentence? There are 2 rows. That means 2 is the number of groups. There are 2 dots in each row. That means 2 is the number in each group. 2 times 2 is the multiplication sentence.

Now we can skip count to find the answer! We will put a circle around each group to help us skip count. 2...4. 4! That is the answer to both sentences and the total number of dice. There are 4 dice!

Now let’s look at the playing cards. So many are missing! We need to know how many cards the friends have so they can look for the rest. Let’s see if we have an even number of cards.

We do! There are 4 groups of 2 cards.

We need an array to help us solve a repeated addition and multiplication sentence. Here!

Now let’s start with the repeated addition sentence. How many addends are there?

That’s right! There are 4 addends, because there are 4 rows. What is the repeated addend?

Yes! 2 is the repeated addend, because there are 2 dots in each row.

We need a multiplication sentence. What is the number of groups?

Great job! 4 is the number of groups, because there are 4 rows. What is the number in each group?

Excellent! 2 is the number in each group, because there are 2 dots in each row.

What is the total number of cards? Let’s skip count using each row of the array. 2...4...6...8! There are 8 cards!

Can we put the game chips into groups of 2?

Yes! There are 7 groups of 2. Here is an array that has 7 rows with 2 dots in each row.

What repeated addition sentence do we need?

That’s right! We need to add seven 2s, like this! We need 7 addends because there are 7 rows. 2 is the repeated addend. What about a multiplication sentence? What multiplication sentence do we need?

Yes! 7 times 2. There are 7 groups with 2 in each group.

What is the total number of chips? Let’s skip count!

2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12,...14!

There are 14 game chips.

The checkers are last! How many checkers are there? Can we put them into groups of 2?

Yes! Here is an array that matches the checkers.

What addition sentence do we need?

That’s right! We need to add 2 nine times. What multiplication sentence do we need?

Excellent! We need 9 times 2.

What is the total number of checkers? Can you skip count to find the answer?

2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18! There are 18 checkers!

You did a great job skip counting to multiply! Now the friends can get more pieces and start their game night!