LESSON 2 Multiplication Strategies

Nick and his friends were talking about multiplication. They decided that they can often solve problems using mental math. They did not need to use paper and pencil for every problem.

Nick and his friends wanted to have a friendly competition. They asked their teacher, Mr. Moreno, to give them a set of problems. They made a table like the one to the right to sort them. In the left column, they put the problems they solved using mental math. In the right column, they put the ones they solved using paper and pencil. They had to be ready to explain how they solved any problem they put on the mental math side.

Here are the problems:

Nick and his friends have been using mental math skills for a long time. They know it is an easy way to solve many problems. The students discussed why so many problems ended up on the mental math side of the data table.