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Number Trail Grade 5 / Week 03 / Thursday
4/6
Week 03 · Multiply big numbers

Thursday

The great garden count
// Partial products and the standard algorithm
⏱ about 15 min

Thursday: The great garden count

Chris the Coyote leans on his walking stick and begins a story.

"One bright morning, Lucy the Ladybug invited 128 ladybug friends to the garden."

"Every ladybug had seven spots, just like Lucy."

"Lucy wondered how many spots there were in all."

"Bennie helped her multiply 128 × 7, one place at a time."

"Then they counted the garden beds: 24 beds with 135 tulips in each."

"Lucy said she felt proud, because the big numbers did not scare her anymore."

Story: Counting spots and tulips

Break 128 into 100 + 20 + 8.

100 × 7 = 700, 20 × 7 = 140 and 8 × 7 = 56.

700 + 140 + 56 = 896. So there were 896 spots.

135 × 24: 540 + 2,700 = 3,240. So there were 3,240 tulips.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STORY
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
128 ladybugs each have 7 spots. How many spots are there in all?
24 garden beds each have 135 tulips. How many tulips are there?
Which number sentence fits 24 beds with 135 tulips in each?

More story problems

SOLVE THE STORY
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
A trail has 36 benches. Each bench holds 52 leaves after a windy day. How many leaves?
Hazel reads 144 pages each week for 15 weeks. How many pages does she read?
A beehive makes 1,250 drops of honey each day. How many drops in 18 days?
Each of 23 baskets holds 406 seeds. How many seeds in all?
TWO STEPS
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Bennie plants 12 rows of 45 carrots, then 100 more. How many carrots?
Lucy has 3 boxes of 125 stickers and gives away 50. How many are left?
SentenceTrue or false?
128 × 7 = 896?
135 × 24 = 3,240?
144 × 15 = 1,160?
406 × 23 = 9,338?
WHY THIS EXERCISE144 × 15 is 2,160, not 1,160.
Try it
Count how many steps you take to cross one room.
Imagine walking across that room 25 times.
Multiply to find how many steps that would be.
Draw Lucy and her ladybug friends. Write 128 × 7 = 896.

What a garden! Tomorrow Freddy has a review game.

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