How to Use Arrays to Teach Multiplication Facts

Multiplication often confuses third and fourth grade students. All of a sudden, they are being asked to combine numbers in a new way. While teaching multiplication using repeated addition is standard, using arrays to teach multiplication provides visual learners with an easy to grasp helper.

Multiplication Arrays - What are They?

Multiplication arrays are blocks of dots or other shapes that show any multiplication problem visually. The first number in the multiplication fact is represented by a row of dots across the top. The second number in the multiplication fact is displayed downward from the first dot in the top row. Fill in all the dots for the entire grid and you have a multiplication array. The answer to the problem is the total of all the dots in the array.

To make arrays more interesting and fun for your student, you can use small pictures instead of dots, plot them on graph paper, or even use a hands on array method by arranging Lego blocks, candies such as M&Ms, or other small items.

How to Use Multiplication Arrays

Teaching a student how to complete multiplication problems can be tricky. Multiplication arrays give a visual answer to the problem, and help the student understand what multiplication means. This is especially helpful for children who are visual learners. Kinesthetic learners will be helped the most by building the arrays out of tangible items as listed above.

Multiplication arrays can also demonstrate the concept of groups. Have your student circle each group, or row, or dots. The number of groups times the number of dots in each group is the multiplication problem. When building the multiplication arrays with blocks, attach them in groups. These groups can be made with small candies by using a different color for each group.

Advanced Multiplication Techniques

Of course, your student should not continue to use multiplication arrays forever. The use of arrays is a good trick to employ for beginning multipliers. However, when multiplication problems get more complex, they can still be useful mentally. Students can visualize arrays in their head to help figure out more complicated multiplication problems.

Using arrays to teach multiplication is an educational standard similar to the concept of repeated addition. By arranging multiplication arrays using groups, a student can understand what multiplication is: number of items in a number of groups. Multiplication arrays can help students visualize the math facts more easily.