MATHEMATICS UNIT PLANNER

Topic: Exploring number patterns and multiplicative thinking

Year Level: 4

Term:

Week: 4

Date: 18/10/14

Key mathematical understandings

Multiplicative thinking stems from
experiences of skip counting.

Key AusVELS Focus / Standard (taken directly from AusVELS documents):

Content strand(s):
Number and Algebra Measurement and Geometry
Sub-strand(s): Patterns and algebra

Patterns grow and are extended by using a

rule that involves addition and multiplication.

Finding a general rule based on numbers

within in a pattern can be applied to future
numbers.

Level descriptions: Level 4

Explore and describe number patterns resulting from performing multiplication (ACMNA081)
Solve worded problems by using number sentences involving multiplication or division where there is no
remainder (ACMNA082)
Proficiency strand(s):
Understanding
Problem Solving
Reasoning

Key skills to develop and practise

Key equipment / resources:

Exploring and extending growing patterns using

multiplicative thinking

Interactive whiteboard

Hundreds chart (see Appendix 1)

Using skip counting to find multiples of numbers

Pattern visuals (see Appendices)

Using manipulative objects to represent growing

patterns

Manipulative objects (blocks, counters)

Looking at the role of functions in relating two

numbers.

Butchers paper

Photographing device (teacher assessment)

Key vocabulary
Multiples
Pattern
Increase/grow
Input/output
Multiplication
Addition
Count
Function
Finding a rule/method
Apply
Reason

Statistics and Probability

Possible misconceptions (list of misconceptions related to

the mathematical idea/topic that students might develop):

Students may look at two numbers in a pattern

and generate a rule based on these two numbers
that is additive, rather than looking at the whole
pattern and generating a multiplicative rule.

Learning
strategies/ skills

Analysing
Checking
Classifying
Co-operating
Considering options
Designing
Elaborating

Estimating
Explaining
Generalising
Hypothesising
Inferring
Interpreting
Justifying

Key probing questions

Can you find another way of solving the

problem?

What change in the pattern do you see?

What is the relationship between these two

numbers?

Listening
Locating information
Making choices
Note taking
Observing
Ordering events
Organising

Performing
Persuading
Planning
Predicting
Presenting
Providing feedback
Questioning

Links to other contexts

Reading
Recognising bias
Reflecting
Reporting
Responding
Restating
Revising

Seeing patterns
Selecting information
Self-assessing
Sharing ideas
Summarising
Synthesising

Testing
Viewing
Visually representing
Working independently
Working to a timetable

MATHEMATICAL
FOCUS
(what you want the children
to come to understand as a
result of this lesson short,
succinct statement)

Session 1
Students are
exploring multiples
of numbers by
using the hundreds
chart as a visual
pattern to extend
from additive to
multiplicative
thinking. They will
also use this to
solve word
problems by using
number sentences
involving
multiplication.

TUNING IN
(WHOLE CLASS FOCUS)
(a short, sharp task relating to the
focus of the lesson; sets the scene/
context for what students do in the
independent aspect. e.g., It may be a
problem posed, spider diagram, an
open-ended question, game, or
reading a story)

Display the hundreds chart

on the interactive
whiteboard (see Appendix
1).
Highlight patterns of 2, 3,
4, 5, 7, 8, 9 as the students
skip count.
Explore how the hundreds
chart can be used as a tool
to explore multiples of a
number, for example, 2 +2
can be written as 2 x 2
places it was skip counted
9 + 9 + 9= 27 can be
written as 9 x 3 places it
was skip counted.
(Apples4theteacher, 2004)

INVESTIGATIONS
SESSION
(INDEPENDENT LEARNING)
(extended opportunity for students to
work in pairs, small groups or
individually. Time for teacher to probe
childrens thinking or work with a small
group for part of the time and to also
conduct roving conferences)

Present the students with

individual hundreds charts
and the question:
For his birthday Ariel
wants to make 4 lemon
pies that use 5 lemons
each. How many lemons
should he buy?
-9 lemon pies
-5 lemons each
I attended a wedding on
Saturday where there were
4 people seated on each
table for dinner. On my
plate were 3 potatoes, 2
pieces of broccoli and 2
small pieces of chicken.
I noticed everyone else
had the same.
-If there were 10 tables,
how many pieces potatoes,
pieces of broccoli and
chicken was there all

REFLECTION & MAKING

CONNECTIONS
SESSION
(WHOLE CLASS FOCUS)
(focused teacher questions and
summary to draw out the mathematics
and assist children to make links. NB.
This may occur at particular points
during a lesson. Use of spotlight,
strategy, gallery walk, etc.)

The photos taken during

teacher observation (see
Assessment Strategies)
will be displayed on the
interactive whiteboard and
the relevant student will
explain their working out
(repeat for 3 students).
For a select few photos
make conjectures as a
class as to the thinking that
may have gone on.
-What strategy does it look
like this student has used?
-Have they performed
addition or multiplication?
-Look at the model they
have made. What do you
think it is showing?
The student whose work is
being discussed will then
explain their thinking.

ADAPTATIONS
- Enabling prompt
(to allow those experiencing difficulty to
engage in active experiences related to
the initial goal task)
- Extending prompt
(questions that extend students
thinking on the initial task)

Enabling prompt: Look at

your hundreds chart and
use counters to help you
skip count
Extending prompt: Can you
think of some new
numbers for this problem
that might give an answer
that is not on your
hundreds chart?

ASSESSMENT
STRATEGIES
(should relate to objective. Includes
what the teacher will listen for,
observe, note or analyse; what
evidence of learning will be collected
and what criteria will be used to
analyse the evidence)

Photographs taken of
models, drawings and
statements towards the
end of the lesson as a
form of pre-assessment
-To what degree are the
students thinking
multiplicatively?
-What familiar/new
strategies have they
used?
-Appropriate use of
manipulative objects in
grouping

together?
-14 tables?
-16 tables?
-20 tables?
Students will use counters
or blocks, draw a
representation of their
thinking and accompany it
with an equation and
sentence explaining how
they have solved the
problem.

Session 2
Students are
moving from
additive to
multiplicative
thinking by
examining and
exploring
patterns and
by creating a
general rule.

In each corner of the room

allocate the students:
Corner 1- 3
students
Corner 3- 6
students
Corner 3- 12
students
(Vary numbers according
to class total).
Ask each group to call out
the number of people in
their group and record in
sequential order on the
board.
-What do you notice about
these numbers?

In groups of 4 investigate
body patterns, with each
group pulling out a topic
from a hat:
Eyes
Ears
Toes
Fingers
-Find the total amount
of body parts in your
group. How are you
going to figure this
out?
(Prompt them to think
multiplicatively)
-If there were 6 people
in the group, how
many body part would

Each group of 4 will

present their findings to the
class, with each person
from the group sharing
-one key idea they thought
about when finding the
answers
-how they started to solve
the problem
-the method they used
-what they found
interesting/challenging

Enabling prompt:
-How many eyes/ears/toes
etc do you have?
-If you have this many, how
many does Student have?
-If there are 4 people in
your group, and all of you
have 10 toes, how many
toes are there?
-Will you add all the toes
up or can you think of an
easier way?
Extending prompt:
-Can you think of a quicker
way to solve this?

Anecdotal notes:
-Contribution of each
student to the collective
ideas of the group
-A collective consensus
and understanding that a
multiplicative approach is
best suited to the problem
-The beginning of the
formulation of a specific
rule/method that was
used to solve the
extensions on the
problem.

(Anticipated answers:)
*It is going up by 3 the first
time and by 6 the second
time
6 is double of 3 and 12 is
double of 6
Ask the students if the can
think of an easier way to
double another then by
adding the same amount
and develop the rule 2n.

there be?
-If there are 10 people
in the group, how
many body part would
there be?
-20 people?
-100 people?
Students to record on
butchers paper their
ideas and strategies,
as well as their general
rule/method.

Highlight the usefulness of

creating a rule and apply it
to how many people there
would be in Corner 4, 5
and 20.
(von Rotz & Burns, 2002).
Session 3

Students are
examining
patterns and
finding
functions as
well as
constructing
their own
function

Function machines
(Downton, 2014):
Using the function machine
poster on a large scale
(see Appendix 2), refresh
the students memory of
how a function machine
works and ask them to
think about what a number
may be multiplied by rather

Individually, students are to

fold one piece of A4 paper
so that the two ends meet
in the centre, essentially
creating a hidden section.
On the two visible sections
students will consider their
inputs and outputs and will
construct their own function
machine. (Adapted from
Runde Room,2011).

A select few students will

share their partners
Function Machine, using
the discussion time in the
Investigating Session to
help them explain how their
partner constructed it and
how they went about
finding the functions.

Enabling:
-I wonder what has
happened to our input
number in the function
machine to make it come
out like this?
-number multiplied by what
number equals number?
-Look at the hundreds
chart to help you find
multiples of numbers

Observation during share

time and independent
work:
-Evidence of multiplicative
thinking and reasoning
behind the choice of
number (rather than using
the additive function)

machines.

than thinking additively.

Begin with
10- 100
20-200
etc
Using their base 10 facts
students should be able to
identify the numbers are
being multiplied by 10.
Complete once more using
smaller numbers on the
interactive function
machine (see Appendix 2),
identifying what each
number has been
multiplied by.

Session 4
Students are
moving from
additive to
multiplicative
thinking
through the
exploration of
growing
patterns and
by creating a
general rule.

Display the pattern found in

Appendix 3 on the
interactive board.
Ask the students to
consider what is happening
in this pattern:
-It is growing each time
-How much is it growing
by?
Ask them to see if they
notice a pattern by
counting the blocks or

Recommend using smaller

numbers to begin with and
then challenge themselves
with larger numbers.
On a separate piece of
paper record the function in
sentence form
Eg: 1-100 multiply 1 by
100

Extending:
-Can you think of putting
both addition and
multiplication in your
function machine to create
a new answer?

Swap with a partner and

predict each others
functions on a separate
piece of paper before
revealing the middle
section. Have a discussion
about methods used and
their thinking behind the
function machine if unclear.
Independently students will
use blocks to extend this
pattern a fifth, sixth and
seventh time, considering
the method they are using
and to determine how
many blocks are required
for each stage.
Students to record
strategies and methods
they have used and to
share them with a partner.

As a class one student will

be selected at random to
share their strategy, using
the pattern on the
interactive whiteboard to
show their thinking.
If they have not yet come
up with a sentence or
concise rule for their
method, class members
will be invited to share their
thoughts (with close
guidance from the

Enabling prompt:
What can you see has
changed from the first
pattern to the second
pattern/second pattern to
third pattern etc
-Look at the L shape. Each
time a new pattern is
made, where are the new
cubes added?
-How many cubes are
added on each time?

Collection of recordings
and photographs of
models:
-Evidence of additive
thinking in final strategies
and methods (recognition
that each pattern
increases by 2) being
linked to multiplicative
thinking (1x1 + 2= 3; 3 x 1
+ 2= 5 etc)

noticing the way it looks

each time
-What strategy have they
used?

teacher).
Students with different
strategies will then be
asked to share.

Record these observations

on the whiteboard.
As a class discuss what is
happening and solve the
pattern together, with these
questions to be used as a
guide:
-Can you tell me what you
are thinking?
-Did you solve the problem
in a different way?
-How do you know that this
solution is correct?
-Does this method always
work for you?
(Ministry of Education.
(2008).

Session 5
Students are
continuing
moving from
additive to
multiplicative
thinking
through the
exploration of

On the interactive
whiteboard display the
pattern found in Appendix
4. Explore the pattern as a
class and have students
contribute key
understandings from the
previous lesson.
Complete the pattern up to

Give the students 3 topics

to create their own growing
pattern:
My birthday party
A day at the footy
My friends
Students will be given
access to counters,
blocks and butchers

Students will pair share

their completed problems
(without answers) and will
solve their partners
problem.

Extending prompt:
-Can you think of a rule
that involves addition
and/or multiplication to
describe what you have
done each time?

Enabling prompt:
-Use small numbers to
begin with
-What do you want to find
out?
Extending prompt:
-Can you complete your
problem again, this time
using larger numbers?

Photographs taken of
models, drawings and
brainstorming:
-Ability to use a worded
problem to explore
patterns
-Considering numbers
and ways of working
recorded
-A general rule that

growing
patterns and
by creating a
general rule.

10 as a class and then

explore strategies to find
how big the fish is on its
fifteenth and hundredth
birthday.
Record all contributions
and ways of working on the
whiteboard while guiding
students to think
multiplicatively.
(Felux, C. & Rizzo, N.,
2009)

paper to brainstorm
how they will word their
problem and what
numbers they will use.
Complete a worded
problem, record the
method used and come up
with a rule.
Solve the problem on the
back of the butchers
paper.
-Is there anything you want
to change or improve?
Provide the students with
some guidelines:
-Think about using
numbers that are smaller
-How will you try and use
multiplication to solve your
problem?
-Think about your base
numbers and the ones that
will be discovered later on
-What do you want to find
out?
Take photos of the
students models and
thinking so that they can
refer to it later.
(This session may
continue over two
sessions)

-Can you find another way

to solve your problem?

involves multiplicative
thinking and that can be
applied to future
scenarios.