Arrays for multiplication (age 7+)
Use addition to find the total number of objects arranged in rectangular arrays with up to 5 rows and 5 columns; write an equation to express the total as a sum of equal addends
Lesson
Set out your lesson
Use equal rows to turn an array into repeated addition.
Before teaching
Ask for an example of one prerequisite idea; revisit if needed. Historical graph coverage does not establish this learner’s readiness.
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Use equal rows to turn an array into repeated addition.
Use equal rows to turn an array into repeated addition.
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Learning resources
Extra practice links — they do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.
Illustrative Mathematics · Practice link — not the full lesson
Counting Dots in Arrays
Before you open · source notes
Choose repeated-addition expressions that match a rectangular array of dots. This is array-to-addition practice, not every multiplication fact.
Free, no sign-in. A teacher solution is on the same page, so use the student view with your child.
Before you openAsk how many rows and how many in each row, then which sums match. Keep solution choices private while the learner works.
Opening this link does not save learning or assess mastery.
Source, access and review notes
Public Illustrative Mathematics task page. The .html address responds HTTP 308 to this URL. An anonymous GET of this URL on 2026-11-11 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt. Where a teacher solution is present, it is on the same page as the student task; this check did not find a separate locked student view. An adult can use the student view section and should not read a solution aloud. Advertising was not observed in the fetched HTML text; that is not a browser, device, or ad-free guarantee. This is a paper or discussion task, not an automatically marked interactive game. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. Diagrams on the page use missing or filename-only alt text, so they are not an accessible image equivalent. Accessibility still depends on an adult describing the picture.
Illustrative Mathematics. “Counting Dots in Arrays.” Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. External task; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute it.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — link only
Check understanding
- Count objects in a 3×4 array and write 4 + 4 + 4 = 12
- Explain that each row has the same number of objects so the total can be found by repeated addition
- Draw a rectangular array to model a given repeated-addition equation
“If your child sees 4 rows of 5 stickers on a sheet, can they use repeated addition — '5 + 5 + 5 + 5' — to find the total, and write it as an equation?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Conceptual
- Subject
- Mathematics
- Domain
- Multiplication & Division
- Age range
- Ages 7–9
Standards