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Cultural Multiplication Stories

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Cultural Multiplication Stories

Read each short story and solve the multiplication problem. You can use skip-counting, an array, repeated addition or a multiplication fact. Show how you worked it out.

From the class newspaper

Mere and Nathan are reporting on a community celebration. Whānau and neighbours are sharing food, music and stories. The newspaper team notices multiplication all around them: equal groups make it quicker to count what is being prepared.

1.For a kapa haka practice, 4 rows have 5 poi in each row. How many poi are there altogether?

9 poi
20 poi
15 poi
25 poi

2.Charlotte is making a newspaper note about fruit for the celebration. Six plates each have 3 mandarins. Write a multiplication sentence and find the total number of mandarins.

3.A family brings 3 trays of steamed buns, with 4 buns on each tray. Use the array to help you work out how many buns they bring.

4.At a Pacific community dance practice, 5 groups learn 2 new steps each. Which calculation finds the total number of group-steps practised?

5 + 2 = 7
5 × 2 = 10
5 × 5 = 25
5 − 2 = 3

5.A newspaper reporter sees 4 tables with 6 cups set on each table. Complete the repeated addition and multiplication: 6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = , so 4 × 6 = .

6.Nathan says, “Seven bundles with 3 paper lanterns in each bundle make 10 lanterns because 7 + 3 = 10.” Is he correct? Explain the mistake and give the correct total.

7.The newspaper team packs 4 boxes with 5 recipe cards in each box. Draw or describe an array, then write the multiplication fact and total number of cards.

8.Write a two-sentence class newspaper story about something being prepared or shared in groups. Include a multiplication problem using groups of 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10. Then solve your problem with a multiplication sentence.