Multiplication and division - Scaling - Planning

In Year 3, during the third week of the Spring term's Multiplication & Division unit, students are introduced to the concept of scaling. The lesson's objective is to help children understand how to multiply quantities to find 'as many' times more of a given number. The resources provided for this lesson include worksheets and a presentation, with key vocabulary such as 'as many' and 'multiplication' being emphasised. Students are encouraged to visit the accompanying website for additional resources like vocabulary cards and definitions. The lesson starts with a recap of previous learning and a 'fluent in four' questions exercise to get the children thinking about scaling.

The first activity uses bar models to visually demonstrate the concept of scaling by comparing the number of girls to the number of boys, teaching the children that 'three times as many' is represented by multiplication (e.g., 1 x 3). Through discussion and example questions, the children learn to represent this visually with bar models. The subsequent activity further reinforces this concept, where children predict and then construct bar models to represent multiplication problems, such as the number of red cars times five. In a later activity, the children explore the inverse operation of multiplication—division—to solve problems. The lesson concludes with a reflection exercise where children consider what they've learned, the skills used, and any challenges faced. Differentiated worksheets are provided for varying levels of understanding, from simple scaling images to drawing bar models for more complex problems, ensuring that all students work towards their individual learning goals.