Math


 * To Parents and Adults at Home …**

Your child’s class is starting a mathematics unit on multiplication and division. Multiplication and division are basic computational skills that children will use often, and skills that children must master to succeed in higher levels of mathematics. Your child will develop strategies for multiplying and dividing whole numbers. They will use multiplication charts, counters, grid paper, and calculators. In this unit, your child will: · Relate multiplication sentences to repeated addition. · Use arrays to multiply and divide. · Discover patterns for multiplying and dividing by 2, by 5, and by 10. · Learn the rules for multiplying by 1 and by 0. · Create multiplication and division fact families. · Relate division sentences to repeated subtraction.

Talk with your child about the importance of learning her or his multiplication and division facts. Find opportunities to practise these facts with your child to build confidence and to establish a solid foundation. Here are some suggestions for activities you can do with your child. When walking down the street or riding on a bus, have your child multiply the digits of 2-digit house numbers. For example, for a house numbered 36, your child would multiply 3 × 6 to get 18. (Multiplication beyond 7 × 7 is not required.)

Find items that are arranged in equal rows. Have your child give a multiplication sentence and a division sentence for each arrangement. For example, egg cartons are arranged in 2 equal rows of 6 eggs. Two possible sentences are: 2 × 6 = 12 and 12 ÷ 2 = 6.