We are excited to reintroduce to the market the Decimal Board of Multiplication, which was created by Dr. Montessori. We have revamped and modernized the Decimal Board of Multiplication by replacing the glass topping of the board with a fine layer of felt fabric. Instead of writing calculations on a glass surface, children use gray or white tiles similar to the ones used with the Checker Board. In addition to the wooden materials, children use the Decimal Board Graph Paper which resembles the one from the Large Bead Frame.
The purpose of the Decimal Board of Multiplication is to aid children transition from a concrete experience, the Decimal Checker Board, to a more abstract experience. The Decimal Board of Multiplication invites children to transpose their problems on Graph Paper while parallelly working on the wooden frame. When working on the Graph Paper, upper elementary children “break down” the multiplicand and multiplier in order to calculate partial products. They are reminded to use the power of 10, 100, or 1000 to move the decimal point, which facilitates the multiplication process. This work is excellent for upper elementary learners as it requires mental discipline and offers opportunities for higher thinking processes to occur. As for the upper elementary guide, we are providing a complete step-by-step Lesson Plan to conduct the preliminary presentations, which are scaffolded and illustrated to facilitate the use of our new material! In this post, we would like to share some of the work that can be accomplished when using the Decimal Board of Multiplication with our corresponding Task Cards. The Decimal Board for Multiplication Task Cards are comprehensive and scaffolded. They will help provide additional independent work for your learners as they contain a visual control for errors on the back of each card.
Materials
- Decimal Board of Multiplication
- Decimal Board for Multiplication (Task Cards)
- Decimal Board for Multiplication – Complete Set
Related product: Decimal Board for Multiplication – Complete Set, Decimal Checker Board, Decimal Stamp Game
The Decimal Board for Multiplication with Task Cards
The Decimal Board for Multiplication are divided in 6 sections labeled “DBM1-DBM6.” There is a total of 48 task cards designed to take children from foundational knowledge to more complex calculations:
- Section DBM1 – Children are invited to represent whole and decimal numbers. This practices encourages children to recall their knowledge on place value and naming each categories (thousands < hundreds < tens < units > tenths > hundredths > thousandths…)
- Section DBM2 – In this section, children are provided equations with whole numbers multiplied by whole numbers, then decimal numbers multiplied by whole numbers, which is a preparatory work for the next sections.
- Section DBM3 – In this section, equations become more complex and learners are required to multiply multi-digit factors, some of which are whole numbers, and others, decimal numbers.
- Section DBM4 – In this fourth section, all the factors are decimal numbers. For example, 9.9 x 2.5 requires learners to move the multiplicand to the left to be able to work with at least one whole number, which facilitates the process of multiplication. Learners have to remember to place the decimal points at the right place at the end of their work, which was demonstrated to them at the time of the presentation.
- Section DBM5 – This section is similar to the previous section but increases in difficulty since the factors are a mix of larger whole numbers and decimal numbers. Ex: 70,491 x 8.31
- Section DBM6 – Section 5 is the most complex sections since it contains decimal numbers with 3 decimal digits such as 10541 x 6.159 which yield to a long process of calculations and a result of 64,922.019! Experienced learners will certainly appreciate the challenge.
We are confident that you and your learners will benefit and enjoy using our new material! The Decimal Board for Multiplication can be used to revisit basic concepts such as placing decimal numbers in categories or naming decimal numbers appropriately, to calculating decimal numbers to whole numbers or to other decimal numbers. Our professionally designed Lesson Plan will take you through the preliminary lessons, which should be enough for children to work progressively and independently.
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