The purpose of this activity is for students to build on the work they have done with scaled picture graphs to use the tape diagram as a new representation of multiplication. The scale of the picture graph will be used to help students think about a category of the graph as a situation involving equal groups.

To add movement to this activity, students could find someone in the class who represented a different category than they did or represented the same category in a different way. When they find a person, they can describe what is the same and what is different about their representations.

• Have students share different ways they represented a category in the graph.
• Display a student created tape diagram or make a quick sketch of one to represent the street signs Elena saw on the way home.
• “Which category does this tape diagram represent? How do you know?”
• “How is the diagram the same as the scaled picture graph?” (Each picture and each part of the tape diagram represents 2 signs.)
• “How is the diagram different than the scaled picture graph?” (In the graph, you have to read the key to know that each picture shows two signs. In the diagram, each part is labeled with a 2.)

The purpose of this activity is for students to connect situations involving equal groups to drawings and tape diagrams. This sorting task gives students opportunities to analyze situations and diagrams closely and make connections (MP2, MP7). Students explain why two cards match and have opportunities to critique and question their peers' reasoning (MP3). When explaining, students have opportunities to revise their language to make their explanations more precise and clear (MP6). After sorting and describing their sort, students notice that all of the representations reinforce the meaning of multiplication as a way to express equal groups.

Students will spend all of the next lesson working with multiplication expressions. Keep the equal groups cards for the next lesson.

• For each situation in the last 2 problems, display 2–3 student representations: at least one drawing of equal groups and one tape diagram. Leave them displayed.
• “What do all these representations have in common?” (They all show equal groups. They all have groups. Each group has the same amount.)
• “Where are the 4 bags and 2 strawberries in each drawing or diagram?”
• “Where are the 4 hands and 5 fingers in each drawing or diagram?”