ALTERNATIVE MULTIPLICATION ALGORITHM PLANNING TEMPLATE

Name of Lesson: Russian Peasant Multiplication

Your Name: Ms. Wagner Date of Lesson: 6.27.18 Time, including duration: 20-30 min
Topic: Math
Supports provided for ELLs (visuals, manipulatives, word bank, gestures, native language references etc.): Base Ten Blocks OR beans (Ss need
something to manipulate), word bank with English and native language supports
Context: Students have learned traditional algorithm for multiplication. This one is completely different and may be helpful for Ss who struggle
with multiplication facts.
Resource(s): www.mathisnotuniversal.weebly.com
Common Core State Standards: Learning Goals: Assessments:
What, specifically, will students know and be able How will you know if students met the learning goal and
to do at the end of this lesson? how will you evaluate the quality of students’ performance?
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.B.5 Students will be able to (SWBAT): correctly Student: (end-of-activity check): Student completes a math
Apply properties of multiply numbers whose product is 100 or less. problem using traditional or non-traditional algorithm as an
operations as strategies to Exit Ticket, writing an explanation of what they did with the
SWBAT use a strategy to correctly multiply algorithm (or they could record explanation if you have
multiply and divide. numbers. access to technology such as Seesaw).
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.C.7
Fluently multiply and Teacher: (how you will collect, evaluate and process
divide within 100, using evidence of students’ learning): Look at Exit Tickets and
strategies such as the student explanations on paper or on Seesaw to see if
students can A) do the algorithm correctly and B) explain
relationship between
what the algorithm is showing/why it works.
multiplication and division
(e.g., knowing that 8 × 5 =
40, one knows 40 ÷ 5 = 8)
or properties of
operations. By the end of
Grade 3, know from
memory all products of
two one-digit numbers.
Important Vocabulary to teach or review: Product, array, multiply, solution
Materials: Base Ten Blocks or other manipulative that is all the same size (beans or chips would work well), paper for exit tickets

Attending to the Learners

Adapted from Lesson Design template created by Katrin Oddleifson Robertson and Shannon Kurtz McGrath, 2010
ALTERNATIVE MULTIPLICATION ALGORITHM PLANNING TEMPLATE
Anticipating student ideas:
Making the content
accessible to all students:
This algorithm is very different from the normal one we use in the US and will need an explanation using
manipulatives so students understand it. For Ss who don’t know their multiplication facts fluently, this might make
multiplying more accessible. How do you think students will respond to this new algorithm? What questions will they
have? What else might be confusing?
Have manipulatives out the entire time so students are able to check their answer or work through the problem.
Encourage students to talk about math, using the mathematical language and vocabulary. Use turn and talks and
group work to support all students. How will you support all the learners in your group? Do you have any special
education students who need particular supports? What about your learners who struggle? What about the learners
who excel? (specific supports for ELs are already included above so you don’t need to include them again)

Teaching Sequence:
Time/Task Instructional Moves (Include key questions you want to ask.) Considerations
(Things you want to remember/attend to:
e.g., differentiation, transitions)
5 min Launch
• Have students complete a math problem using traditional algorithm Think ahead of time about what vocab
• Review or introduce vocabulary by explicitly modeling it while you walk through students are struggling with or misusing
the warm up problem with traditional algorithm: Product, array, multiply, and what will support this algorithm
solution
• Explain to students that today we are learning a different strategy to add
numbers together – it’s a strategy that many people learn in Russia and it can
help us think about math in a new and exciting way!
• Show students that something special about this algorithm is that all you have to
do is double and half numbers! So you don’t need to use as many multiplication
facts.
• Example problem: 9 x 8 = ______
Lesson Sequence (I recommend I Do, We Do, You Do)
• Use manipulatives to demonstrate for students how the algorithm makes sense Always have manipulatives!! These
and think aloud. You’ll be manipulating the beans/chips/blocks into different hands-on visuals are helpful for all
arrays to show Ss that the overall amount doesn’t change. students but NECESSARY for your ELs.
• Example Think Aloud: So the first step is to write my problem horizontally like
this. And we know what an array of 9x8 looks like, so let’s build it so we can see
how this algorithm works. Now we keep doubling the number on the left side
and we keep taking half of the number on the left side until we get to 1 on that VERY detailed think aloud is necessary for
side. So here, I know that doubling is the same as multiplying by two and 9x2 is students
18. So I’ll write 18 here. And I know that half of 8 is the same as 8 divided by 2
and half of 8 is 4. So now we have 18 and 4. We need to fix our array to make it
match these new numbers and make sure that we still use all of our chips/beans
Adapted from Lesson Design template created by Katrin Oddleifson Robertson and Shannon Kurtz McGrath, 2010
ALTERNATIVE MULTIPLICATION ALGORITHM PLANNING TEMPLATE
because the number in the array needs to stay the same! Oh wow, I see we used
all the chips to make 18 x 4 array, which means I did that step correctly since I
used all my chips. This is just a different way of representing 9x8. Now we’re
going to do the same steps again. We double 18 and split the 4 in half. 18x2 is 36
and half of 4 is 2. So now we need to build our array with 36 and 2 and make sure
that we still use all the beans/chips. Ok, let’s do our steps one more time. 36 x 2
is 72 and 2 split in half is 1. Once I get to 1 in this column, I know I’m done
because we can’t build an array using a fraction without breaking our chips! So
now let’s build our array of 72 x 1 and see if we use all of our chips. We did! The
last step is to look at our half column and cross out all rows that have even
numbers. We cross our 8, 4, 2, and then we’re just left with 1! Then we look at
the number in the doubles column and that’s our answer. Does it match the
array? Let’s see if our manipulatives match our answer and check it. Count
manipulatives.
• Give a new problem and do together as a group with manipulatives OR have
students practice it in pairs/intentional groups using manipulatives, talking
aloud, and recording their thinking.
• Give students 2-5 more problems and allow them to use this algorithm to solve
OR a traditional algorithm. Leave manipulatives out.
• During independent work time, select 2 students who solved the same problem
using 2 different algorithms
• Have students explain their work on the board
• Discuss the similarities and differences in the algorithms and explanations as a
whole class.
• Point out/have Ss notice that the solutions are the same, even though the
methods were different

Closure
• Ask students for what they like/don’t like about this new algorithm Make sure Ss don’t feel pressured to
• Explain that Ss can use whatever algorithm works best in their head when doing use/not use a certain algorithm
math
• Reinforce that there is no “right” way to solve a problem

Adapted from Lesson Design template created by Katrin Oddleifson Robertson and Shannon Kurtz McGrath, 2010