Students who are visual learners are learning to multiply with colored arrays of counters, which helps them understand that multiplication is a set number of groups with equal amounts of an item in each group.
Times table recitation only tells part of the story. By using the colored counters, students can see how ten time ten equals 100 is represented.
At Clements/Parsons Elementary School, students learn more than memorization thanks to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.
Students were given two factors, and then built an array with colored counters showing those factors. They took pictures, drew the array and recorded the product. According to teacher Lisa Nelson, the activity helped them visualize what multiplication actually is.
“Students were working on representing multiplication facts using a variety of approaches, to include arrays, to determine the total number of objects when combining equally sized groups,” Nelson said.
“I chose this activity because it was a hands-on, engaging way to solidify the knowledge of equal sized groups and determining products. It also helped students visualize fact families.”
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