Working with Arrays

We had a lot of FUN working with manipulatives in DISCOVERING how to take a large array and break it down into smaller arrays to help us solve difficult multiplication problems. We did a GREAT job working with our partners.
Mrs. Ross asked us to make an array that was a 6 X 10. We worked with our partner to make sure that our array had the dimensions of 6 by 10.
Then we discussed how we could take a large array and break it down into smaller arrays.
We asked the kids to make an array with the dimensions of 6 by 3. Some students just started flipping over chips to make a 6 X 3 and then realized that they were left with an area that was no longer considered to be an array. Then, we thought about other ways we could make a 6 X 3.
This is what we came up with, 6 X 3. We then discovered that we we were left with an array of
7 X 6. We realized that (6 X 3) + (7 X 6) = 6 X 10. How cool is that?

We then had to make a 9 X 6 array. We had to break it into not just 2 small arrays, but 4. The kids really enjoyed learning how we can take a large array and break it apart into smaller arrays. This activity sure will help us with our multiplication facts.