Multiplication Fluency

We worked on a multiplication fluency task a little bit today. We used 24 snap cubes to build as many rectangles as we could. They needed to be solid rectangles.

It took a while to figure out how many different options there were, and why we couldn’t build one with a dimension of 5. We came to a conclusion that the length and width of the rectangle multiply to 24, and that wont work for 5.

Some groups were interested in making 3D prisms, and we made the connection that the dimensions would be (2)(2)(6) or (2)(3)(4) and in both cases if you multiply those 3 values you get 24, which represents the volume of the prism.

Another group went rogue and started building a giant rectangle, and then figured out how many blocks they’d need to build it. That took some serious multiplication skills.

We’re getting better at using manipulatives without them ending up all over the floor. We have a well established “no throwing” rule, and we are working on helping care for our materials and our space.