#2615. Multiplication

Mathematics, level: Elementary
Posted Thu Jun 27 13:08:55 PDT 2002 by Tuell Ann Hall (mrch4952@aol.com).
Elementary, Fort Worth, Texas
Materials Required: Blackboard,butcher paper, pencil, timer
Activity Time: 60 minutes
Concepts Taught: Make it Easy

You can draw the multiplication answers in a triangle form if they are multiplying from 1-9 like this.
81
72
63-64
54-56
40,42,45,48,49
30, 32, 35, 36,
20, 21, 24, 25, 27,28
10, 12,14,15,16,18

After you have drawn this on the board, you tell your students this story. There was an old woman and an old man who wanted children. The man was 81 and the woman was 72. (How old were they?)
Well before long the 81 and 72 year old couple had two twin boys which they named 63 and 64 since they were born just 1 minute apart. (What were their names?) The following year, they had two girls, but they were not twins-they were two. year apart so they named the girls 54 and 56.
The family had a great deal of fun. Father 81 would take his wife 72 and the twin boys 63 and 64 to their 54 and 56 daghters to their baseball games. and the twin boys 63 and 64 would practice with 54 and 56. Soon they grew up. The boys had children first. In fact the first boy 63 had 5 boys which he named 40, 42, 45,48,and 49. Which do you think were twins? (Can anyone name all the
children?)His twin brother had children also. He had 4 children, and he had a set of twins too..He gave them the names of 30, 32,35,36 (Which children were twins?)Who can name all of his 4 children? At Christmans the brothers' 9 children went gradfather 81 and grandmother 72's house. Both aunts were expecting children Aunt 54 had 3 sets of twins-20-21:24-25:27-28 . She was really busy washing diapers for years and she was tired. (Who can name the three sets of twins of 54?) Now sister 56 wasn't sure she wanted so many children because there were already 15 children in the family, but she went ahead and had a family, but she spaced her children out so they could help her with the babies. The first she named 10, and then 12 came along, and she got a real surprise next (what do you think it was?) SHE HAD TRIPLETS-14,15,16 so she hired a babysitters named 18 to help her out.

Using the board, have one student retell the story and place the numbers on the students. Twins always join hands as do triplets.

Next in pairs of two, students draw a number from the story with their fingers on another's back and they guess the number. Students switch. (two minutes)

On large butcher paper placed on wall, have teams try to put as many numbers as they can on the board before 2 minutes are up. (Sometimes I let students draw the missing multiplication persons so they are not forgotten and we place them in the room so they feel like part of our family too.