Multiplication Station for Multi-Digit Multiplication Strategies

This resource is included in PDF format for printing and in Google Slides™️ format for digital learning. This makes it useable with Google Classroom™️.

This Multi-Digit Multiplication Station is a follow-up to the best-selling Multiplication Station for basic multiplication facts. If your students do not yet know their basic facts, find the original Multiplication Station HERE.

Do you want to implement more mental math strategies into your classroom, but don’t know where to start? Do you already teach mental math, but want to work more strategically to target your students more effectively? This is going to be the solution that you have been looking for.

The Multi-Digit Multiplication Station integrates simple principles of student engagement including power, fun and choice. These basic principles will engage, motivate, and ensure success for all learners in your classroom.

So, how does it work?

Well, it’s really quite simple. Students work through a series of activities for each level. They complete the activities, self-check using the prepared answer keys, and keep track of their progress using their personal tracker. At the end of each level, the student asks the teacher for a quick, informal, one-minute oral quiz. If he knows the strategy, he moves to the next level. If not, he simply practices a bit more until he feels ready. There are no negative consequences.

This process is entirely student-run. It is a beautiful thing to sit back and watch your students “running the show.” After the first week of this program, you will notice your role switching from that of teacher to that of facilitator.

Why do students love this approach so much? It’s easy: they have power! They have freedom! They are truly in control of their own learning. And THAT results in highly motivated students who love to learn.

Add to that an effective order of teaching the strategies that really makes practical sense, and you will have students who feel smart, successful and engaged. It’s just that simple. Your students are going to love this.

You are going to be noticing some pretty big changes within your math instruction once you start using this resource:

Your teaching will become more effective and strategic. Finally! An organized, efficient way to teach multi-digit multiplication. The work is done for you.

The amount of marking that you have to do will decrease, as students are responsible for their own assessment. (Of course you’ll be doing observational assessment throughout, but you will be doing NO marking.)

Once you prepare The Multi-Digit Multiplication Station, it can be used for at least a couple of months – that’s one less center that you need to worry about!

Your students will become reflective as they develop metacognition.

Your students will become motivated mathematicians. Finally, they can all work to a level that is appropriate. That’s motivating!

Your students will experience success on a regular basis, as a result of working at an appropriate level.

Your math class will become student-centered. Your students are truly in control of their own learning.

BIG GOALS

Multi-digit multiplication can actually be quite a controversial topic when it comes to choosing the strategies that we should teach. On one end, we have strategies that have been used for decades, but that don’t necessarily involve a lot of number sense understanding, such as traditional long multiplication. On the other end, we have strategies that are sometimes referred to as “new math” that encourage deep understanding of number. This includes strategies such as partial products and breaking up numbers. These sometimes appear more time consuming than more traditional methods, but they do result in excellent number sense understanding.

So how do we choose which ones to teach?

My personal opinion is that we should encourage a deep understanding of number whenever possible. It is essential that students understand place value concepts when they multiply, because then the process of multiplication makes sense, rather than just being a series of steps to follow to result in an answer.

However, I do still think that there is a place for traditional methods as well. Students who possess good number sense understanding can often thrive with long multiplication and other similar methods. Once we have a solid number sense foundation, the goal becomes efficiency – getting a correct answer as quickly as possible. Traditional long multiplication may be the most effective strategy for SOME of your students.

For this reason, I have included both traditional, and non-traditional methods in this station. The Multi-Digit Multiplication Station begins with strategies that teach and reinforce number sense. This includes multiplying by 10, 100, and 1000, multiples of 10, 100, and 1000, the distributive property, breaking up numbers, the box/window method (area model), and then moving up to partial products.

If you have students who struggle with multi-digit multiplication, you will likely choose to have them stop after the partial products level.

However, if you have students who are ready for a challenge, they can move into the final four levels which include lattice multiplication and long multiplication.

This approach will ensure that each student in your class possesses the strategies that they need in order to be successful. It will also allow you to automatically differentiate to different ability levels.

Please see the PREVIEW file for a full preview and all of the information you need.

Thank you for your interest,

Shelley Gray