Lesson # __1__ of _1____ Grade Level: 3

Central Focus Distributive Property of Multiplication

3.OA.5: Apply properties of operations as strategies to multiply and

Standard
divide.

Learning Students will be able to multiply using the distributive property by

Objective using counters and arrays.

Counters, Array Break Apart Worksheet

Materials

The purpose of learning the distributive property is to help students

break bigger numbers into smaller numbers, so that they can
Purpose
multiply more easily.

Instruction Introduction:
Students have worked with arrays for multiplication. Tell students
that they will pretend to be farmers. Present the following scenario:
Jen is starting a garden in her backyard. She has a 5 by 7 plot space
to use. She wants to plant carrots and eggplants in her garden, what
are the different ways that Jen can divide her plot to plant the
vegetables?
Students will be given counters (yellow and red ones). First, have
students show you how a 5 by 7 plot would look using the red
counters to make an array. Students should show you something
like this:
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤

Have students explain the kind of array they have. Tell students that
a 5 by 7 plot can be shown as 5 rows and 7 columns. Tell students
that suppose Jen wants to split up the 7 columns in her plot to plant
her carrots and eggplants. How many columns of carrots and
eggplants can she have? Have students share the ways the 7
columns can be split up. If students are stuck, ask students how the
number 7 can be split up into two different numbers. Have students
list the numbers that add up to 7: 1+6, 2+5, 3+4.
Pull out a chart paper that has a 5 by 7 array on it. Tell students you
feel comfortable using the numbers 2 and 5 to split up your 7. Make
a line that separates your array into 5 columns and 2 columns. So,
Jen can have 5 rows of carrots and 2 rows of eggplants. Have
students separate their columns (using a pencil or ruler).

⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤|⬤⬤
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤|⬤⬤
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤|⬤⬤
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤|⬤⬤
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤|⬤⬤

Tell students that they will be learning a new property of

multiplication called the distributive property. Explain that the
distributive property allows you to break one of factors/numbers into
smaller numbers. Remind students that you chose to break the
number 7 up into two smaller numbers, 5 and 2. Explain that the
distributive property can help us multiply numbers easily using these
smaller numbers.

Explain to students that we have used arrays to help us multiply.

Tell students that there are 2 arrays now since it was split up. Show
that your new arrays are 5 by 5 & 5 by 2. Ask students what 5 by 7
is and then check if your two new arrays will give you the same
product. Explain to students that in the distributive property, we can
find the products for both arrays and add the products together.
5 2
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤ ⬤⬤
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤ ⬤⬤
5 ⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤ ⬤⬤
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤ ⬤⬤
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤ ⬤⬤

Tell students that 5 x 5 is 25 and 5 x 2 is 10, you can add 25 and 10

to get 35. Show students that there answer can be written like
(5 x 5) + (5 x 2) = 35

Guided Practice:
Ask students what if Jen had a 8 by 6 plot. How can we split up her
garden? Students will turn and talk with a partner. Have students
create an array using the counters with the new plot size and have
them split up the garden into new arrays. Students will then find the
products of the new arrays and add them together.
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤
 ⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤

***https://theowlteacher.com/teaching-distributive-property/ [This website

was used as reference for my lesson.]
Students will work independently on an Array Break Apart
Learning Task Worksheet. Students will be given various arrays to split up and find
the answer to.

Students will share how they split up the arrays on their worksheet.
Closing
Ask students if this is an easier way for them to multiply numbers
and tell them it will help them multiply even larger numbers.

1. Array Break Apart Worksheet, during Independent work to

ensure they grasp what was taught during the mini-lesson.
Assessments
2. Turn and talk during the guided practice: If Jen had a 8 by 6
plot, how can we split up her garden?

For ELL and struggling learners, provide them with additional math
manipulatives such as counters and base-ten blocks to help them with
the worksheet. An anchor chart will also be posted for reference.
Differentiation
For gifted students, an additional worksheet with larger numbers will be
provided for them (attached below).

Academic
Language Distributive Property