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Multiplication problem solving activity

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Looking for a fun way to mix multiplication and problem solving? Try this!

When I told my third grader that it was time for him to a multiplication activity with me, he groaned.

“But Mom, I don’t like multiplication.”

“Well, let’s just give this activity a try.”

Before long, he was giggling and asking to complete the full activity.

What could possibly make multiplication so much fun?

A monster lab!

This game is in a learning center format.

You will need:

  • One picture mat with all 9 of the monsters
  • 24 monster lab math problems (cut apart as individual cards)
  • 1 recording sheet for each student

To play, my son chose a problem card. He read the problem aloud, and referred to the monster on the picture sheet to figure out the math problem.

In the above example, he saw that Ernie has 5 eyeballs. If Dr. Crazy wants to make 6 Ernies, he needs to do the following math problem to find out how many eyeballs he will need:

6 x 5 = 30 eyeballs

After he completed each problem, he recorded it on his answer sheet. He had to write the number of the card, show his work, and circle the answer.

Some problems require several steps, as you see in the above example.

Encourage your learners to use different methods of problem solving as appropriate. In the above example, my son drew a picture to solve card #5.

He was a little confused with card #17 until I showed him that writing a list could help him solve the problem.

The bundle comes with 24 cards, but students only need to complete 12 cards to finish the activity.

I hope your learners have as much fun with this as my son did!

Get your free Multiplication Monster Lab!

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Reader Interactions

21 Comments

  1. Alison

    Hi Anna,
    I love your Monster Lab Multiplication Activity! 🙂
    However, I can’t get it to print in a usable size – The math problem cards are printing as 1″x1″ cards. I tried printing one of my own documents, and it prints correctly, so I don’t think it’s a problem with my printer settings. (?)
    Thanks,
    Alison

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  2. Cheryl Hendricks

    I’m so excited to have come across your website. Among other things I have found, this activity to help my some enjoy practicing math has been great! Thanks you so much for sharing all your ideas and printable!!!

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  4. Robin Warden

    This is so great! I love these kinds of activities! I can’t get enough of these kinds of things just like the mystery problem solving ones! Make some more!! Thank you!!

    Reply to this comment

  10. Hae

    It looks so much fun! My little one always wonders why she needs to learn multiplication (because her daily life really doesn’t require her to multiply any numbers), but this is a good example that her math skill can be very useful when she needs to build MONSTERS (which she is in love with)!! Thank you, Anna! =)

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