Multiplication as Groups of Things
๐ฏ Learning objectives
After this article, you should be able to:
- Understand multiplication as repeated groups
- Solve multiplication up to 10 ร 10
- Connect multiplication with skip counting
Multiplication is a fast way of adding the same number again and again. The sign is ร (we say "times").
Apples in rows
Imagine 3 boxes. Each box has 2 apples.
๐ ๐
๐ ๐
๐ ๐
That is 3 groups of 2, written as:
3 ร 2 = 6
You could also add: 2 + 2 + 2 = 6. Multiplication is just speedy adding!
Say it out loud
- 4 ร 3 โ "four groups of three" โ 12
- 5 ร 2 โ "five groups of two" โ 10
- 3 ร 5 โ "three groups of five" โ 15
The flip trick
3 ร 2 is the same as 2 ร 3! Turn the rows into columns and nothing changes. That means you only need to learn half the times table. ๐
Skip counting powers
Counting in steps is the secret engine of multiplication:
- Count in 2s: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10โฆ
- Count in 5s: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25โฆ
- Count in 10s: 10, 20, 30โฆ
Ready for practice? The multiplication trainer shows every question as apple groups first, then pure numbers.
๐ฌ Comments
No comments yet. Parents and teachers can leave the first one below.
Log in as a parent or teacher to comment. Children can never comment or chat here โ by design. ๐ก๏ธ