Lesson 1

The purpose of this lesson is for students to make estimates and calculations of products.

In grade 4, students multiplied two-digit by two-digit and one-digit by up to four-digit numbers using strategies based on place value understanding and the properties of operations. Students learned a partial product strategy for multiplication and represented it with diagrams and equations. This lesson gives teachers an opportunity to see how students apply previous work to estimate and find products. Expect to see a wide range of strategies from students and be sure to listen to them as they explain their reasoning. In the synthesis, the strategies highlighted involve place value and properties of operations which will be built on in future lessons.

What unfinished learning or misunderstandings do your students have about multiplication? How did you leverage those misconceptions in a positive way to further the understanding of the class?