General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why Would a Math Teacher Punish a Child for Saying 5 x 3 = 15? [View all]joshcryer
(62,297 posts)However if you start the matrix convention early (the row column as opposed to your suggestion, column row) approach it's in their head already, and it's super easy to teach. The other way actually, imo, leaves the number as an abstract concept.
It may be true that the teacher is just going by the guide book and doesn't understand what they're teaching, because they're equivalent, and I'm not sure I would've docked a grade. But there's got to be consistency when you're talking about certain concepts.
Here's a worksheet where they define arrays: http://www.commoncoresheets.com/Math/Multiplication/Multiplication%20Array/English/1.pdf
Here's a worksheet where they show the numbers: http://www.commoncoresheets.com/Math/Multiplication/Rewriting%20Multiplication%20Problems/English/1.pdf
And to clarify they do have a worksheet for other approaches to the same problem (but they don't call them arrays): http://www.commoncoresheets.com/Math/Multiplication/Rewriting%20Multiplication/English/1.pdf
It's not as bad as it looks and I think it gives the kids an intuitive approach to things. First factor is the row (how many times a quantity is to be expressed), second factor is the quantity to be expressed. Super duper easy to write that out.
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