Fact Family Fun – Multiplication and Division Strategy

Are you looking for fun ways to incorporate play with learning in your maths classes? Fact Family Match-Up is a great game for maths rotations, student pairs, or as a whole class activity. The aim of the game is to sort the cards into fact families, so that each ‘family’ contains 4 cards that correspond to one another.

Students then record the fact families and by determining the unknown number in each equation and drawing a model, they unscramble the secret word!

Through this activity, students will show recognition and understanding of the relationship between multiplication and division operations. 

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding 

A team of dedicated, experienced educators created this resource to support your maths lessons. 

In addition to individual student work time, use this fact families game to enhance learning through guided maths groups, whole class lessons, or even homework assignments! If you have a mixture of above and below-level learners, check out these suggestions for keeping students on track with the concepts:

🆘 Support Struggling Students

Help students who need help understanding the concepts by providing a multiplication chart and demonstrating how it can be used to determine related facts, or unknown numbers in the equations.

➕ Challenge Fast Finishers

As an extension, challenge students to write a fact family of 4 equations where 3 are related and 1 is incorrect. Students can trade with partners to determine the equation that does not belong in the fact family.

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version of this resource. A recording sheet and answer key are also included with this download. 

Print on cardboard for added durability and longevity. Place all pieces in a folder or large envelope for easy access. 

Sustainability Tip: Print a few recording sheets on cardboard and slip them into write-and-wipe sleeves. Students can record their answers with a whiteboard marker, then erase and reuse them.

This resource was created by Lorin Davies, a teacher and Teach Starter collaborator.