4FN15 – Math – Mental Math Multiplication

How do FreeNode lessons work?

FreeNodes are instructor-led schooling lessons with a unique approach, granting you the freedom to independently teach using a personalized lesson plan. This autonomy enables you to tailor your lessons to suit students’ individual needs, learning styles, and interests.

To use a FreeNode, read the provided class outline & follow the formatting provided for each class. Make sure to touch on the Theocratic Connection in each class. Follow the outline closely so it is aligned with our main at-home curriculum.

How Do I Use the FreeNode?

Read this lesson plan before class to familiarize yourself with the ideas and concepts you’ll be teaching the students. You may print this page out if you need to use it as a reference point during live classes.

This lesson is a guide, but feel free to expand on the content or decrease/increase what you teach depending on the learning levels of the students in your class or the amount of time you have to cover the material.

Can I show videos in FN classes?

Yes, feel free to include additional material to supplement the class lesson material. Videos, Physical Objects, Games, Activities, etc. are okay to share in live classes.

Videos should have no advertisements or logos and should be viewed by you before showing them to the students to ensure no offensive or questionable content is included.

The video should make up only 1-3 minutes of the live class and should not take the place of instructor-led instruction. Videos should be supplementary only.

How do bookmarks work?

Bookmarks help you keep track of lessons you’re going to teach in future live classes. The bookmarks you see are for all your bookmarked lessons across all grades.

You can bookmark a lesson by visiting the lesson you want to bookmark and clicking the “bookmark” button in the bookmark section.

You can remove a single bookmark by visiting a lesson you’ve bookmarked and clicking the “bookmark” button again to unbookmark it.

You can clear all of your bookmarks by clicking the “clear all bookmarks” button. Be careful, this will erase all of your bookmarks.

Class Lesson Plan

Objectives:

Students will develop mental math strategies for quickly solving multiplication problems.
Students will learn how to break down complex multiplication problems into simpler components for faster mental calculations.
Students will understand the concept of compatible numbers and use them to simplify multiplication.

Materials:

Whiteboard/Chalkboard and markers/chalk
Visual aids (multiplication tables, illustrations of breaking down multiplication problems)
Practice problems (for hands-on application of mental math multiplication)
Multiplication flashcards or cards with multiplication problems (optional)

Introduction (2 minutes):

Review basic multiplication problems such as 3 x 2 and explain that some multiplication problems are easy to solve, because it’s easy for our minds to remember the multiplication facts.

Discuss the challenge of solving larger multiplication problems quickly such as 4 x 36. Introduce the concept of breaking down multiplication.

Theocratic Connections:

N/A

Activity 1 – Breaking Down Multiplication (9 minutes):

Explain the concept of breaking down multiplication problems into simpler components using examples. (e.g. We can break down the problem 3 x 18 by turning it into two easier problems that we can solve quickly with our minds. 3 x 10 & 3 x 8. Since 3 x 10 = 30 and 3 x 8 = 24, we can add the products of these two problems 30 + 24 and get the answer: 54. So 3 x 18 = 54.)

Model breaking down a multiplication problem on the board, emphasizing the steps involved.
Engage students in a guided practice session, breaking down multiplication problems collaboratively.

Activity 2 – Multiplying With Compatible Numbers (8 minutes):

Introduce the concept of compatible numbers and their role in mental multiplication. Explain the process of rounding the largest number to a compatible number. (e.g. we can solve the problem 3 x 37 by rounding 37 up to 40. Then we can multiply 3 x 40 to get 120. Since we added extra groups of 3 by rounding up, we need to subtract it from our total. Since we rounded up by 3’s three times, we can multiply 3 x 3 and get 9, then subtract 9 from 120, to get the answer: 111. 3 x 37 = 11.)

Model mental multiplication using compatible numbers on the board. Engage students in hands-on activities or worksheets to practice mental multiplication with compatible numbers.

Activity 3 – Review and Practice Problems (9 minutes):

Present practice problems on the board for students to apply their knowledge of mental multiplication. Help students practice breaking down multiplication, & multiplying with compatible numbers.
Encourage collaborative learning and peer discussions.

Conclusion (2 minutes):

Summarize key points, highlighting the mental math strategies learned: Breaking Down Multiplication, & Multiplying With Compatible Numbers.
Reinforce the importance of practicing mental multiplication regularly to enhance speed and accuracy.

Assessment:

Informally assess student understanding through class discussions, observations during activities, and their ability to apply mental multiplication strategies.