Multiplication Mania

Curriculum Goal

Recall and demonstrate multiplication facts of 2, 5, and 10, and related division facts.
Sort and identify two dimensional shapes by comparing number of sides, side lengths, angles, and number of lines of symmetry.

Recall and demonstrate multiplication facts from 0 × 0 to 12 × 12, and related division facts.
Identify geometric properties of rectangles, including the number of right angles, parallel and perpendicular sides, and lines of symmetry.

Two to four students and the teacher in-person, or on a video conference chat.
Students should have prior experience multiplying numbers and identifying rectangles.

In-person version

One standard 52-card deck, number inclusion dependent on students’ level: i.e., A – 10 (Primary) or A – 12 (Junior)
Game board (Appendix A)
Coloured game pieces – one colour per child (15 pieces per child)

Online version

Primary:

To win the game, players must be the first to create a rectangle or square by covering four different numbers on the Multiplication Mania game board.
Suggest to students to take a moment to review what a rectangle looks like on the game board.
Each player starts with six cards.
Each turn, the player chooses two cards from their hand and places them in the Discard 1 and Discard 2 piles to create a multiplication equation.
The player places their coloured token on the product of their multiplication equation on the gameboard.
After their turn, each player refills their hand, so they always have six cards. If the deck runs out during the game, re-shuffle the cards from the discard piles and continue.
While trying to build their own rectangle, players can also strategically block other players from making rectangles. For example, if a player notices an opponent needs to place their game piece on “70” to finish their rectangle, the player can block their opponent by creating a multiplication equation for 70 on their turn.
The first player to successfully create a rectangle on the game board wins.

Can children multiply two single-digit numbers?
Can children multiple a single-digit and a double-digit number?
Can children multiply two double-digit numbers? (Junior).
What strategies do children use to determine the product of the two numbers?
Are children strategic by creating their own rectangle and simultaneously blocking those of their opponent?

Play this as Division Mania, or a combination of Multiplication and Division by changing the operation every round.
Add in the Kings to represent 13.
Allow students to use three or four cards (instead of two) to create multiplication equations with either one or two double-digit multipliers (Junior).

An engaging activity that gets students practicing and recalling simple multiplication facts.