The purpose of this activity is for students to relate drawings of equal groups to arrays. Specifically, students identify arrays that have the same number of objects in each row or column as each drawing has in each group. In some arrays, the equal groups in the drawing are represented as rows, and in some, they are represented in columns. Students have the opportunity to explain the connections they see between the drawings and arrays, receive feedback from their peers, and revise their explanation for precision and clarity (MP3, MP6). This will be useful in future lessons when students record multiplication expressions and equations to represent arrays.

This activity uses MLR1 Stronger and Clearer Each Time. Advances: reading, writing.

• Invite 2–3 students to share how they decided which cards go together.
• “Did your group agree on the matches? What did you look for to decide two cards were matches?” (Yes, we looked for equal groups that had the same number of dots in a group as one of the rows or columns in the array.)
• Listen for language students use to describe their matches and the structure of the arrays. As needed, ask:
  • “What do you mean by _____?”
  • “What else could we call _____?”
  • “How could you use ‘equal groups’ to explain your match?”
• Highlight the use of terms like “row,” “column,” and “equal groups.”

The purpose of this activity is for students to draw arrays from given arrangements of dots. Students draw an array from dots in equal groups to reinforce the definition of an array and then draw as many arrays as they can from 16 randomly placed dots. Having cubes or counters for students to physically rearrange would be helpful in this activity.

• “What kinds of equal groups did you make from 16 dots? How can you see the equal groups in the arrays you made?” (I can make 2 groups of 8. I drew it as 2 rows of 8 dots.)