My students have a difficult time grasping the concept of the distributive property in a large-group setting, so I break it down for them as easily as I can in the small group. We begin by using tiles to show equal groups, which for this array was 6 x 7.
We then "break apart" the large array into two "mini-arrays" using a ruler.
We then write two equations, one for each "mini-array." (6 x 4) and (6 x 3)
We then do our multiplication, and add them back up.
We discuss why we would want to break our arrays apart towards the middle, so we can work with small numbers. We often break it apart in different ways vertically and horizontally to see if (and explain why) we get the same answer.
I broke this procedure down into simpler terms and my students SWEAR the lightbulb goes off every time!! "Oh.....THAT'S it?!" We review this sheet while following each step to complete our distributive property wipe-off cards (created with my one true love, my desktop laminator! *see previous post!*) Click on the links below to download these freebies!
Enjoy!
xoxo,
Miss I.
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