Equal Groups and Repeated Addition: Bean Style!

Today we explored the concept of multiplication by making equal groups and using repeated addition sentences.  Students worked in pairs to "build" our equations with beans.

We learned that in a multiplication sentence, the first factor tells us the number of groups, and the second factor tells us the number in those groups.

5 x 4 = 20

5 groups of 4 = 20

4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 20

I was so very impressed with the mental math strategies used by students to find their products!  A job well done everyone!