An engaging method for teaching multiplication

Do you know the box method? When I first moved up to fourth grade I thought...wow, double digit multiplication is hard!  How am I ever going to teach it in a "non-traditional" way that makes sense to my students?

Luckily, I work with an amazing math specialist as well as hardworking team who introduced me to the "box" method.  What is that you ask?  Well, I think the strategy has many different names...but this is the way that we teach it.

Take a double or triple digit number and break it into place value parts.  327 x 15 = ?
300 + 20 + 7
10 + 5

Then put them on this grid...

 X                300                   20                                  7             

3000	200	70
1500	100	35

10

5

Then you add up the columns so that 3000 + 1500= 4500, 200 + 100 = 300 and 70 + 35 = 105

Next add the 4500 + 300 + 105 = 4,905. 

To explain this to my kids, I created a power point.  It is your FREE to download at TeachersPayTeachers by clicking the link right here!  

I hope you enjoy this new product!