Lesson Plan: Distributive Property

Distributive Property game has been updated and
is available on TSN's Teachers Pay Teachers Page

This lesson utilizes enVision Math, but ideas can be adapted for other texts.  Many of the hyperlinks will direct you to a place to download the resources used throughout this lesson. (Note: You must have ActivInspire downloaded to view the Promethean Board slides)

Lesson: 3.5 Distributive Property

Subject: Math

Grade: 5th

Integration of Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to use the Distributive Property to simplify expressions and solve equations by constructing viable arguments and critiquing the reasoning of others, looking for and making use of structure, looking for and expressing regularity in repeated reasoning.

Standards

· 5.NBT.5: Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.
· 5.OA.1

Procedures

Beginning:

· Watch enVision 3.5 Distributive Property video. Pause and ask questions along the way.
· Watch Study Jams Distributive Property video. Show “Watch Out.” Complete “Try It Out.”

Middle

·      PBIL: (Post Image/Questions on Active Inspire) What is one way to show the number of squares? How many rows are there? How can you represent the number of columns left? One expression is 8 x (10-4). To write another expression, think of subtraction in terms of whole and parts. How can you find the total number of squares? How can you find the number of squares being subtracted? A second expression is (8 x 10) – (8 x 4). Do these two expressions have the same value? How are the expressions related to each other?

o   Pause and ask the questions. Students will work in small groups.

o   Define Distributive Property: multiplying a sum or difference by a number is the same as multiplying each number in the sum (or difference) by that number and adding (or subtracting) the products

· How would you rewrite (8 x 5) – (8 x 2) using the distributive property

o   Answer: 8 x (5-2)

·      Complete independent and guided practice

End

· Create distribute property pictures. Show model as example.

o   Picture 1 (Picture 2 + Picture 3) = (Picture 1 x Picture 2) + (Picture 1 x Picture 3)

· Play distributive property matching game

Differentiation

·    Two different videos for two different ways of showing (students can pick method they liked the best)
· Picture/visual/models for visual learners

Formative/Summative Assessment

· End-of-unit test

· Observations

Materials/Technology

· enVisions Math 3.5 Distributive Property Video

· Study Jams Distributive Property Video

· ActivInspire

· Distributive Property Match Game

Distributive Property game has been updated and
is available on TSN's Teachers Pay Teachers Page

Reflection on Instruction:

Students really did not get the distributive property at first.  They couldn’t figure out that they are just writing out the factors that they are multiplying.  They wanted to solve the whole thing.  They could solve the problem using other methods, but they basically refused to use the distributive property.  I kept doing practice problems with them.  By the end, most were able to pick up that they were just writing out the factors.

I didn’t get to show the distributive property visual, but this may help for review. I would like to make a visual for each of the properties, since we did not get a chance to do it with the other properties. I should make a poster with all the properties using pictures. This may make for a good review.

For homework, we decided to use a worksheet that laid out parenthesis.  This way, repeated process would engrave that they are jus multiplying factors for the distributive property.