Curriculum  /  Math  /  3rd Grade  /  Unit 2: Multiplication and Division, Part 1  /  Lesson 14

Multiplication and Division, Part 1

Lesson 14

Math

Unit 2

3rd Grade

Lesson 14 of 21

Objective

Solve one-step word problems involving multiplication and division and write problem contexts to match expressions and equations.

Common Core Standards

Core Standards

  • 3.OA.A.1 — Interpret products of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 5 × 7 as the total number of objects in 5 groups of 7 objects each. For example, describe a context in which a total number of objects can be expressed as 5 × 7.
  • 3.OA.A.2 — Interpret whole-number quotients of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 56 ÷ 8 as the number of objects in each share when 56 objects are partitioned equally into 8 shares, or as a number of shares when 56 objects are partitioned into equal shares of 8 objects each. For example, describe a context in which a number of shares or a number of groups can be expressed as 56 ÷ 8.
  • 3.OA.A.3 — Use multiplication and division within 100 to solve word problems in situations involving equal groups, arrays, and measurement quantities, e.g., by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.

Criteria for Success

  1. Solve one-step word problems involving multiplication or division with units of 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10, using a tape diagram to represent the problem if necessary (MP.4).
  2. Write a word problem that can be solved with a given multiplication or division expression or equation (MP.2).
  3. Assess the reasonableness of an answer (MP.1).

Tips for Teachers

  • This lesson is the first instance of students encountering problems with continuous quantities rather than discrete ones. In other words, instead of situations involving balls or plants that can be modeled as individual objects, students will start to see problems involving things like length, money, time, etc. that cannot be easily modeled with individual objects. Thus, the tape diagrams used to model the problem should be abstract ones without one-to-one drawings in them, since it could be misleading to represent these continuous quantities with discrete objects. This also hopefully aligns with students’ increased fluency – if students are no longer counting all quantities to solve, they don’t need to draw one-to-one tape diagrams to help them do so. 
  • Students continue to assess the reasonableness of their answers by thinking about whether they make sense. But, in Unit 1 sometimes students would round values to assess reasonableness, which makes less sense when working with single-digit computations. So, the discussion of reasonableness can focus on asking questions like "does my answer make sense in context?" or "would I expect it to be greater or less than (some quantity in the problem)?"
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Anchor Tasks

25-30 minutes

Problem 1

For each of the following problems, 

  • Decide if it can be solved using multiplication or division. Explain your thinking. 
  • For each word problem that can be solved using multiplication or division, represent it using an equation with a letter standing for the unknown quantity.
  • Solve. 

a.   Nadeem is reading a book. It takes him 7 minutes to read each page. How many minutes will it take for Nadeem to read 10 pages?

b.   Helen spent some money on her 3 grandchildren at the fair. If she spent a total of $12, how much did she spend on each grandchild?

c.   Kiara is making saris. She has 30 meters of fabric and needs 5 meters to make each sari. How many saris can Kiara make?

Guiding Questions

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Student Response

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References

Illustrative Mathematics Gifts from Grandma, Variation 1

Gifts from Grandma, Variation 1, accessed on Oct. 10, 2018, 4 p.m., is licensed by Illustrative Mathematics under either the CC BY 4.0 or CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. For further information, contact Illustrative Mathematics.

Modified by Fishtank Learning, Inc.

Problem 2

For each part below, write a word problem that can be represented with the given expression.

a.   $$4 \times 6$$

b.   $$15 \div 3$$

Guiding Questions

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Student Response

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Problem Set

15-20 minutes

Discussion of Problem Set

  • How many large glasses of water did Subha drink in a week in #3? What did you need to know to be able to figure that out? 
  • Which two statements were correct in #6? How did you know the other options were incorrect? 
  • What word problem did you write for #8? Did you think of 3 as the number of groups or the size of each group? If you had thought if it as the one you didn’t choose, how would that have changed your word problem? 
  • What made #10 difficult? How did you find the answer? 
  • What equation did you write in #11a? How is it related to the equation you wrote in #11b? Which one did you use to answer #11c, or did you use some other strategy? 

Target Task

5-10 minutes

Problem 1

Which problem can be solved using the expression $$3\times 5$$?

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Student Response

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Problem 2

Four siblings equally split the cost of a Mother’s Day gift. If the gift cost $24, how much does each of them pay?

Student Response

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Additional Practice

The Extra Practice Problems can be used as additional practice for homework, during an intervention block, etc. Daily Word Problems and Fluency Activities are aligned to the content of the unit but not necessarily to the lesson objective, therefore feel free to use them anytime during your school day.

Word Problems and Fluency Activities

Word Problems and Fluency Activities

Help students strengthen their application and fluency skills with daily word problem practice and content-aligned fluency activities.

Next

Solve two-step word problems involving multiplication and division.

Lesson 15
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Lesson Map

A7CB09C2-D12F-4F55-80DB-37298FF0A765

Topic A: The Meaning of Multiplication and Division

Topic B: Multiplication and Division by 2, 5, and 10

Topic C: Multiplication and Division by 3 and 4

Topic D: More Complex Multiplication and Division Problems

Topic E: Scaled Picture and Bar Graphs

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