Equal groups
The idea before the symbol.
Multiplication starts as equal groups: four plates with three apples each. Understanding that the groups must be the same size — and that the array can be turned without changing the total — comes before any table is memorised, usually ages six to eight.
Play this lesson with narration →Three plates, four cookies each
Equal groups → multiply.
Three plates. Each plate has four cookies. How many cookies? We could count them one by one, but there's a faster way.
Line them up: an array
When groups are equal we can line them up in a rectangle. That's called an array. Three rows, four columns. Twelve.
The × sign
Instead of writing four plus four plus four, we write three times four. Three groups of four. Equals twelve.
Try it
Two rows of five. How many?
What parents should watch for
- Counting the groups instead of the total, or the total instead of the groups.
- Accepting unequal groups as a multiplication situation.
- Not seeing that 3 × 4 and 4 × 3 give the same total (rotating the array shows it).
- Reading 3 × 4 as "three, four times" and "four, three times" interchangeably without noticing the different stories they tell.
Land 41 · Equal Groups Grove — 10 levels for ages 6–8 in the multiplication & division strand.
Play Equal Groups Grove in the Yaze Adventure Map — games built on this exact skill.
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