Factors and Multiples

As we learn more about multiplication, we have learned about factors and multiples. These are tricky concepts and children frequently get confused between each vocabulary word.

We learned:

Factors are the numbers that you multiply together to get a product (or multiple). For example, 4 and 5 are factors of 20 because 4 x 5 = 20. You can also think about factors with skip counting. If I can skip count by a number and land on another number, then the first number is a factor of the second. For example, I can skip count by 4 and land on 20 - 4, 8, 12, 16, 20. Therefore, 4 is a factor of 20.

Multiples are like the opposite of factors. Multiples are the answers you come up with when you multiply numbers. For example, 30 is a multiple of 6 because I can multiply 6 x 5 to get to 30. You can also think about multiples with skip counting. All the numbers I skip count by starting with a certain number are multiples of that number. For example, if I skip count by 6 - 6, 12, 18, 24, 30... All the numbers I skip count are multiples of 6.

Some children remember this way:

Factors (starts with f) come first (also starts with f). They are the smaller numbers that build up to multiples that come at the end (last - also ends with e).

***Most importantly, children should remember that skip counting is the same as multiplication! (And they've been doing that since kindergarten!!! :o) It is the same as multiplication because your adding equal groups each time you count up.

Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions, comments or concerns. :o)Melanie

State Fair

Thanks to all who were able to attend our State Fair this morning! The children feel so proud of their hard work. We appreciate you sharing your enthusiasm with us.

We will continue our study of states after vacation. We will share the knowledge we have learned about our individual states with the rest of the community. We will take this knowledge and construct new knowledge that will help us better understand our entire country.

Thanks for your support! :o)Melanie

State Fair

Hopefully your children are busy at home preparing their dioramas and paragraphs for the State Fair. You may have noticed that I have been giving less written homework the last week or so to give your children more time to complete it. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

The children are working equally hard at school. While we are focusing in on one small aspect of their state at home, we are looking at the entire state at school. The children have completed research sheets to gain general information. We have practiced using a Table of Contents and an index to help them find this information. We have learned about agriculture and manufacturing. We have learned that states became parts of our nation at different times.

This information will be compiled and shared on a large display board that will represent each region at the state fair. They will be displayed along with the children's dioramas. Together the children will look carefully at their collective states and analyze why they are grouped together. Most importantly, we want children to understand that where people live in our country will affect how they live.

We hope you can make it to our state fair on Thursday, February 12 at 9:00 in the Miriam Kronish Performance Center.