Multiplication Teaching Resources
Teach multiplication with ease this school year with free printable multiplication worksheets, digital activities, games and more to help students understand how to multiply numbers and apply multiplication strategies to math problems.
This teaching resource collection was created by the teachers on the Teach Starter team for elementary teachers, and each curriculum-aligned resource has been carefully reviewed and curated to ensure it's ready to use with your students!
Explore multiplication charts and tables, methods for explaining the associative and commutative properties and more, plus find differentiated resources to help you meet each student's needs!
Want to learn more about multiplication? Read on for a primer from our teacher team!
What Is Multiplication? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Introducing multiplication to your class? Let's get started with a definition of this math operation that's easy for them to understand.
Multiplication is the process of adding a number to itself many times. It's a simple way to figure out how much you'll have when you add the same number again and again.
Let's look at an example.
Pretend you have 3 apples, and you want to multiply them by 4.
If you did this, you would end up with 12 apples because you added 3 apples to itself four times (3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12).
Multiplication Terms
Launching into multiplication in your math class involves plenty of new vocabulary words for your students to learn! Here are some of the terms you will want to start off with.
Product
The product of a multiplication problem is the result of multiplying two or more numbers together. It's basically the answer to your math problem!
Partial Product
If the product is the answer, what's a partial product? This is the name of each product when you break apart the factors and multiply the parts in a multi-digit number. While there are many ways to solve multiplication problems with partial products, the box method is a common strategy to help students break apart each factor before multiplying.
Factor
In multiplication, the factor is the number that is being multiplied by another number to get a product. For example, in the problem 3 x 4 = 12, the numbers 3 and 4 are factors, and the product is 12.
Multiplication Table
Sometimes called a times table, a multiplication table that shows the products of all the possible combinations of two numbers.
What Is the Associative Property of Multiplication?
The associative property of multiplication means we can change the grouping of the factors being multiplied, and it won't change the product. For example:
- (2 x 3) x 4 = 2 x (3 x 4) = 24
No matter how we group the factors being multiplied, the product will always be the same!
A cartoon version of the multiplication symbol
What Is the Commutative Property of Multiplication?
The commutative property of multiplication means we can change the order of the multiplied factors without changing the product. For example:
- 3 x 4 = 4 x 3 = 12
This means we can multiply the factors in any order we like and still get the same result!
What Is the Distributive Property of Multiplication?
Another property of multiplication students learn in elementary school is distributive. This means we can distribute a factor across the sum or difference of two other factors.
This property is handy when we want to break down a more complicated multiplication problem.
Let's look at an example:
- 4 x (3 + 2)
We can use the Distributive Property to rewrite this expression as:
- (4 x 3) + (4 x 2)
Now we can simplify each of these products separately:
- 12 + 8 = 20
Using the distributive property, we can figure out that the original problem 4 x (3 + 2) — is equivalent to 20.
What Is the Identity Property of Multiplication?
The identity property of multiplication lets you simplify multiplication problems involving the number 1. When we multiply any number by 1, the product is the same as the original number!
Let's say we have the problem 5 x 1. When we apply the identity property, we know that the product of 5 and 1 is 5 itself, since 1 is the multiplicative identity!
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Multiplication Division Fact Family Interactive Task Cards
Use our digital multiplication division fact family task cards to give your students practice with arrays and basic facts.
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Fact Family Arrays Match-Up Game
Play this fact family arrays matching game with your students to give them practice identifying multiplication and division fact families.
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Multiplication as Repeated Addition PowerPoint
Teach multiplication as repeated addition with this easy-to-use PowerPoint presentation.
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Arrays and Repeated Addition Interactive Task Cards
Use our arrays and repeated addition interactive task cards to introduce multiplication in a way your learners will more easily understand.
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Dividing and Multiplying by Multiples of 10 Interactive Task Cards
Practice dividing and multiplying by multiples of 10 with this engaging interactive task card activity.
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Least Common Multiple Worksheet
Share this lowest common multiple worksheet with your students to give them varied practice with this foundational concept.
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Dividing and Multiplying by Powers of 10 Game
Play this dividing and multiplying by powers of 10 game to give students practice multiplying and dividing whole numbers by 10, 100, and 1,000.
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Place Value Slider Set
Break out this place value slider set for a hands-on way to demonstrate multiplying and dividing whole numbers and decimals by powers of ten.
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Multiplying and Dividing by Powers of 10 Anchor Chart Set
Display our multiplying and dividing by powers of 10 anchor chart set in your classroom for an easy reference for students learning operations with powers of 10.
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Strip Diagrams (Bar Model) Poster Pack
Help your students solve problems using the four operations with a pack of printable strip diagrams anchor charts.
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Multiplication and Division Bingo
Practice fact families with our multiplication and division bingo resource that offers two different ways to play!
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Number Patterns 4th Grade Worksheet Set
Use this number patterns 4th grade worksheet set to give your students practice with multiplication and division number patterns.
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Multiplication Fact Fluency System (Facts 0-12)
Implement this multiplication fact fluency system to help your students master their multiplication facts from 0 to 12!
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Multiplication Fact Rockets
Display these multiplication facts anchor charts in your classroom to help your students recall these valuable number facts.
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5th Grade Multiplication Test - Multi-Digit Multiplication
Assess your students' skills with multiplying whole numbers using a printable 5th Grade Multi-Digit Multiplication Test.
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Using the Area Model for Multiplication Interactive Task Cards
Give your students digital practice with area model multiplication by assigning this set of 24 interactive task cards.
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Area Model Multiplication – Color by Number Worksheet Pack
Download this color-by-number worksheet pack for your students to practice using the area model when multiplying multi-digit numbers.
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Multiplying With Equal Groups – Small Group Bingo
Download this multiplication bingo game to help students understand the concept of using equal groups.
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Using Equal Groups to Multiply – Interactive Mystery Picture
Review with your students how to match equal group models and multiplication facts with this interactive mystery picture activity.
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Area Model Multiplication Interactive Activity
Help students understand how to use the area model of multiplication when solving multi-digit multiplication problems with this interactive activity.
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Equal Groups Bracelet Designs – Multiplication Worksheets for 3rd Grade
Challenge your students to design bracelets by using the equal groups multiplication strategy with this set of 3rd grade math worksheets.
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Multiplication With Equal Groups Matching Activity
Reinforce how to relate multiplication and equal groups with this printable matching activity.
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Multiplication Mountain (Equal Groups) Board Game
Reinforce how to use equal groups to solve multiplication problems with this printable math game.
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Equal Groups Multiplication Task Cards
Highlight how to use equal groups to solve multiplication problems with this set of 24 task cards.
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Multiplication as Repeated Addition Task Cards
Reinforce how repeated addition and multiplication are related with this set of 24 task cards.
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Area Model for Multiplication Mini-Book
Demonstrate how to use area models for multiplication with this printable mini-book.
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Multiplication on a Number Line Task Cards for 3rd Grade
Extend student understanding of multiplication and number lines with this set of 24 task cards.
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Array, Array, Go Away Dice Game
Reinforce how to match arrays and multiplication facts with this printable dice game.
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Number Line Multiplication – Worksheet Pack for 3rd Grade
Guide your students to solve number line multiplication problems with this worksheet pack.
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Number Talks – Multiplication Representation Task Cards
Help your students discover different ways to represent multiplication with this set of number talk cards.
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Large Multiplication Chart (Blank)
Use this 4-page blank multiplication chart to teach your students about finding products, multiples and number patterns.
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I Have, Who Has? – Multiplication Representations
Use this whole-class game to reinforce your students’ understanding of the different representations of multiplication.