Today I am starting a series of posts about using 100 Charts for teaching different math concepts. I posted Rounding on the 100 Chart about six months ago, but I didn't realize then how many levels of math I could teach with this tool.
Rules for Factors and Multiples
1. The first player chooses an even number less than 50 and marks it with initials or a marker. Pinto beans are a good size for this game board.
2. The second player chooses a number that is either a factor or a multiple of the first number and places his/her mark on that square.
3. Players continue to take turns covering squares that are a factor or a multiple of the previous square.
4. When a player cannot find a factor or multiple of the last number played, he/she loses the game.
After introducing this game, and playing a round of teacher against the class, I thought my fourth graders were ready to play in pairs. I could tell by the questions they were asking and how quickly they got stuck, that their ideas of factors and multiples didn't extend beyond the math facts they memorized.
I made double-sided copies of the six 100 charts on a page and showed them how to make the multiple patterns for 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. I told them they could use the charts they created to find factors and multiples.
The third day we played the game I reviewed factor trees. I told them this was another strategy they could use for finding factors of large numbers.
I hope you enjoy this activity with your class.
