Grouping and Sharing Mats – Monsters With Plates

Grouping and Sharing Mats – Monsters With Plates

These “Monsters With Plates” Grouping/Sharing Mats are fantastic for helping children develop an understanding of the concepts of multiplication and division. Present these mats with a collection of manipulatives (small objects) for the children to use to make equal groups (multiplication) or share out objects equally (division).

Features:

* This set only goes up to groups of/sharing between 5 (as the visuals become too small to fit objects on the plates after this).

* Can be used for both grouping (multiplication) and sharing (division).

* Can be used for multiple ability levels/age groups, depending on whether you use them just for sharing/grouping or whether you add recording or reading equations.

* Laminate for longevity and reuse over and over.

Ideas for Use:

* Grouping: Make up a little story with the children about what they are doing eg. They are preparing plates of food for the monsters and each monster must get the same amount so it is fair (and so they don’t turn into grumpy monsters!). You may like to ask them questions such as “How many monsters are there?”, “How many pieces of food do they get each?”, “How many pieces of food is there altogether?”, “Do they all have the same amount?”

* Sharing: Start with an initial amount of objects eg. 10, then the mat provides the number of plates/people they need to share that 10 objects between. How many objects do they get each? Are there any left over?

* If the child/children are ready for beginning to record what they are doing, you can use a whiteboard for them to write eg. 3x5=15 or 10÷2=5. You could also use our multiplication or division cards to give the student an equation to make on the mat.

Tip! While the children are developing an understanding of what they are doing, use words like “shared between” or “groups of” rather than “divided by” or “times” as they make it easier for them to understand the concept.

If the child/children are ready to start recording, we have multiplication mats with the recording written on them (eg. 6 groups of _ =_). You can laminate them or put them in a dry erase pouch for the children to record with dry erase markers. They can be reused over and over again!

Follow Wunderparks on social media for an endless stream of ideas!

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For best results, print using “high quality” print settings and good quality paper (higher gsm) or card (check your printer’s specifications for how high a gsm it can print with).