These are just a couple of real-life situations where distributive property comes in handy! The distributive property is a mathematical concept that helps us simplify expressions by breaking down terms and distributing them across other terms. In this section, we’ll explore some creative and fun real-life examples that can help middle school students understand and apply distributive property in their everyday lives. So grab a snack (or two) and let’s dive in!

Mastering the distributive property: Through everyday applications!

1. Buying in bulk:

When you buy a large quantity of an item at once, you can often get a discount. For example, if a store is offering a discount of 10% off on purchases over $50, you can use the distributive property to calculate how much you’ll save. If you’re buying $75 worth of items, you can use the equation 0.1(50) + 0.1(25) to calculate the discount, which simplifies to 5 + 2.5 = 7.5. So you’ll save $7.50 by buying in bulk.

2. Calculating distance:

When you’re calculating distance, you might need to use the distributive property to simplify the calculation. For example, if you’re traveling 60 miles per hour for 3 hours, you can use the equation 60 x 3 = (50 + 10) x 3 = 180 to calculate the total distance traveled.

3. Grocery Shopping:

Imagine you are buying three packs of apples, each priced at $2, and two packs of oranges, each priced at $3. The total cost can be calculated using the distributive property: (3 × $2) + (2 × $3) = $6 + $6 = $12.

4. Time Management:

Let’s say you have three activities, each taking 30 minutes, and you have two more activities, each taking 45 minutes. You can use the distributive property to calculate the total time required: Total Time = (3 × 30 minutes) + (2 × 45 minutes) = 90 minutes + 90 minutes = 180 minutes.

5. Budgeting Expenses:

Suppose you have a monthly budget and allocate 20% of your income to savings and 30% to rent. You can calculate the expenses using the distributive property: Budget = 0.2 (income for savings) + 0.3 (income for rent) which will be = Income (0.2 + 0.3)

6. Calculating Total Cost:

If you buy 4 books, each priced at $10, and 2 pencils, each priced at $2, you can use the distributive property to find the total cost: (4 × $10) + (2 × $2) = $40 + $4 = $44.

7. Distributing Objects:

If you have 5 boxes, and each box contains 3 pencils and 2 erasers, you can use the distributive property to find the total number of pencils and erasers: (5 × 3 pencils) + (5 × 2 erasers) = 15 pencils + 10 erasers.

8. Area Calculation:

Imagine you have a rectangular garden with a length of 5 meters and a width of (3 + 2) meters. Using the distributive property, we can distribute the multiplication: 5 × (3 + 2). This simplifies to (5 × 3) + (5 × 2), which further simplifies to 15 + 10 = 25 square meters. The distributive property helps us calculate the total area by distributing the length to both terms in the width.

Unlocking the power of the distributive property: Effective teaching strategies

When teaching math, it’s important to find effective strategies for helping students understand important concepts, such as the distributive property. This mathematical property is used to simplify expressions by breaking down terms and distributing them across other terms in the expression. Here are some specific strategies that teachers can use to teach distributive property to middle school students.

• Use concrete examples: Start by using concrete examples that students can relate to, such as using the distributive property to distribute candy or money to different people. This will help students see how the property works in a real-world context.
• Provide guided practice: Provide students with guided practice problems that break down the distributive property step by step. This will help students understand the process and build confidence in using it.
• Provide feedback: Give students feedback on their work, including specific feedback on their use of the distributive property. This will help them identify areas where they need improvement and build their confidence in using the property.
• Use manipulatives: Use manipulatives such as algebra tiles, base ten blocks, or other objects to help students visualize the distributive property. This will help them see how the property works and build a deeper understanding of the concept.
• Connect to prior knowledge: Connect the distributive property to prior knowledge that students have, such as multiplication or factoring. This will help students see how the property fits into their existing understanding of math concepts.

By using these strategies, teachers can help students understand the distributive property and apply it effectively to a variety of math problems.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the distributive property is an important mathematical concept that middle school students need to understand in order to excel in algebra and beyond. By using creative real-life examples, such as calculating the cost of snacks at the grocery store or distributing money among friends, teachers can help students understand and apply the distributive property in meaningful ways.

Additionally, strategies such as modeling, hands-on activities, and visual aids can also be effective in teaching this concept. By incorporating these strategies and examples into their lessons, teachers can help their students master the distributive property and develop strong foundational skills in algebra and mathematics as a whole.

Manpreet Singh

An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having  just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’, 

The post 8 Real Life Examples Of Distributive Property appeared first on Number Dyslexia.

Learning this property on paper may be accompanied by some intriguing activities and online games to ensure the learner grasps the essence and practical side. We have curated a list of activities for you to help with the same. These are unique and may assist you in the diverse practices of the concept.  

Distributive properties- How do activities assist?

By definition, distributive property states that multiplying the sum of two or more addends by a number would give the same result as multiplying each addend with that number individually and then adding these products. This explanation may be grasped by some and some others may need additional training. Accordingly, activities here may assist in the following sections:

• Active Learning and Practice: Classroom teaching may be evidently effective for learning. Nonetheless, adorning these with interactive activities may improve the learning experience. This may eventually lead to better performance due to active learning and practice. In research on studying the importance of activities in the classroom conducted by Kathy Missildine^[1], it was observed that employing innovative activities in the classroom increases the performance of pupils. These inferences depict the significance of activities in active learning. 

• To Review Before tests: While the pupils have ensured adequate training in the classroom, they may also use these activities to review the concepts later before examinations. Further, some activities can also be used as class tests to assess the abilities of students. 

• Boosting new Strategies: Traversing with various entities, campaigns may often provide new insights that may assist in better performance. For instance, an activity employs tiles for reckoning. This activity may assist the pupil in visualizing the expression to solve it swiftly.

 Fun activities to master distributive property concepts 

Enticed with the probable benefits of the activity-based practice, here are our crafted choices that may retain your thrill. 

1. Dice the Expression

Solving questions from the textbook or as a part of a class test may be often limited. To create a pool of sums to practice, employment of dice may be a fair idea.

• To start with, the teacher provides students with dice, paper, and a pencil.  The student needs to roll the dice thrice to get three numbers to form a question.  
• For instance, if the three numbers they get on dice are 3,5, and 4, then the fabricated questions will be 3(5+4). 
• Similarly, the pupil continues to roll until they get a pool of 10 questions. 
• Later, they sit back to solve all these questions to complete the activity. 
• This activity can be a substantially great class and after-class activity that can make the student engage in the concept for a long time, ensuring mastery. 

2. Distributive Tombola 

We all have played a fun game of tombola or bingo as kids. This game is not just for kids, but a common game for adults too! This game now also be transformed to practice distributive properties as well. 

• With tombola or bingo, we usually get tickets that have numbers displayed on them. The teacher would be the speaker who would be calling out the numbers, and the students would be playing the game like usually. 
• The only catch here is, that as soon as a student completes a line, they need to submit the ticket, with the numbers in their distributed expression.

• So, after calling out every number, the teacher would wait for 1 minute, so that students can convert that number in an expression. 
• For example, if the teacher says 45, and a particular kid has 45 in their ticker, first they will strike off the number, and on a separate page, they will write the expression 9(2+3). 
• The kid who wins the line, or the house, along with having the correct distributed expression of each number would win the game.
• Besides the fun factor, the students would be time-bound in completing the expression, as the teacher would wait only for a minute by the clock to call out the next number. 
• This will help with the quick learning of how to form expressions. 

3. Daily Household Consumptions

All the math regulations may be identified in real life. The concept of combos in shops may be a good example. This practical example may be used as an exhilarating activity. 

• We have regular subscriptions for milk and other items like bread. The teacher can ask the student to talk to their parents about their daily milk and bread consumption. 
• This activity can be performed at home also. Next, the student needs to jot down how much their family is spending on milk+bread on a daily basis.
• For example, if the house is consuming 1-liter milk, which costs 30 cents, and one packet of bread every day which costs 15 cents, then the daily cost of milk+bread would be 45cents. 
• Next up, they would be asked to calculate the monthly expense of the same using the concept of the distributive property. This can be done as:
  • 30 (30 + 15) = 30 * 45 which is calculating the daily expense and multiplying it by no. of days in a month. Or 30*30 + 30*15 that is calculating the monthly expense of the items separately which is the first step you get after solving the parenthesis using the distributive property

• To make the activity even more exciting, the kids can be told to ask for the expenses of 5 more such household goods that are used or consumed on daily basis. For example, fuel, vegetables, snacks, chicken, etc. 

4. Riddle Worksheet 

Pupils may feel it enticing when they have a strong reason to solve an expression. This activity ensures the same with the implementation of riddles in it. 

• To start with, the mentor prepares a set of questions in a worksheet (Say 10). Each question starts with a riddle that the student needs to answer. As a hint, an expression is provided. 
• Solving this expression can either give an answer or hint for the same.  For example, the riddle can be “What is the number whose constituents’ product is zero,” and the hint can be 5(7-5) or 2(2+3) or any 2-digit number multiple of 10 whose constituent product is zero. Here, the student can solve this statement to get the answer (10). 
• The questions can get complicated as the pupils go around with more questions. 
• This activity may be a good pick to stipulate motivation in students to learn. For this reason, it may be chosen as an icebreaker activity at the start of the day. 

5. Poster Fun 

To introduce the concept of Distributive property to early students, employing pictures and posters may assist. This activity, therefore, may be an introductory learning pedagogy. 

• To incept, the teacher procures color papers (at least three colors), glue, a marker, and a piece of plain paper. The mentor cuts out one circle out of each color paper (say red, blue, and pink); later, each circle is cut into two halves. 
• Now all these cuttings and other tools are offered to the student and are asked to create a poster of Distributive property out of it. 
• The students start with creating an equation with cuttings. For instance: ‘Red arc’ (“Blue Arc” +” Green arc”). Then, they glue each of the half circles in place to form this equation. Below that, they need to expand this expression and represent the same as (“Full circle with red arc and blue arc”) + (“Full circle with red arc and green arc”). This arrangement is made by gluing relevant pieces of paper. 
• The students can make similar posters with varying shapes as well. This campaign may ensure creativity and tactile learning in students along with notions of the distributive property. 

6. Match up cubes

In the sphere of distributive property, it may be observed that an expression may be presented in a number of ways. For instance, 10(7-4) may also be represented as 10(2+1). This activity helps pupils to identify them effortlessly. 

• The process starts with the instructor producing a set of 20 building cubes and an erasable marker. 
• Two cubes are taken, and two forms of the same expression are written on each of them. 
• The same cycle is continued for the other 18 cubes as well and then are shuffled well. 
• Now the teacher calls upon the pupil and asks them to match these expressions in pairs by joining them.  
• The students analyze the expressions and pairs up by joining them, finally making out 10 pairs. Later, the mentor can erase the expressions, replace them with new ones and start the activity again. 

7. Distributive Ludo

We all have played and loved fun and exciting round of ludo! So how about a twist in Ludo that would help the kids learn so much about the distributive property. 

• Basically, for this activity, the teacher can either take a spare ludo board or can make one using cardboard.
• If the teacher decides to self-create, it can be a fun classroom activity where they can ask the kids to make one small ludo board each using cardboard, chart paper, and markers. 
• These can also be done in a set of 4, as ludo is best played in a set of 4.
• Basically, on the ludo board, there would be some numbers that would be placed in random order. 
• So, the plain tiles would not be plain anymore – they would have numbers. Next, each student will take a dice and play their turn. The dice need to roll twice. 
• So for example, if the number comes 2 in the first time and 6 in the next, the student would move their token two tiles ahead and see what number they land on. 
• Say the number comes up to be 5. Next, for the 6, they will again move 6 steps forward, say the number is 8. 
• Now, the students would have to multiply them (5*8), and create a distributive expression of this number which the teacher would evaluate and if the formation is correct the student remains on that place or else he/she has to move 5 steps back.

• The rest of the rules remain the same. Whoever reaches their home first, wins the game. 

This can be a fun picnic activity for the kids where they can have some fun and learn simultaneously. 

Distributive properties campaigns – How did we choose these options?

Activities are a great way to learn and use what has been taught during classroom hours. These also illuminate the students about how these concepts can be used in daily life. For the same, we made sure these were all fulfilled while crafting our choices for you. Here are those postulates to edify you in considering our choices: 

• These choices are easy to deploy anywhere. All the activities that we have hinted at here may be employed in the classroom or at home effortlessly, While the majority of these can be implemented with just paper and markers. Some may need readily available objects like cubes, glue, and math tiles which are easy to arrange at one’s convenience.
  
• These activities are built on elementary campaigns. All the options that we have provided here need only a basic knowledge of numbers. This ensures a sequential approach to the concepts, which makes learning a smooth process.
  
• They ensure an in-depth understanding of notions. While traditional teaching may make students grasp how to apply the property on paper, the sensible applications of the same may be missed out. Some manevoures like ‘order from the menu’ ensure education.
  
• These campaigns may ensure tactile learning. Touching various objects like dice, tokens, tiles, and cubes may create a strong impression to recall the notion later precisely. 

Concluding thoughts

Being one of the pivotal concepts in higher grade math, students need to propel learning, and thereby deeply indulge in the process of Distributive learning. With the insights provided above, one may make out how campaigns can bridge the gap between abstract and sensible learning. Further, employing these as pass time can relatively expand the study hours, thereby grooming them into better mathematicians. Check out the picks above to discern if any of them can be an apt pick for your young arithmetician. 

References :

1. Missildine, K., Fountain, R., Summers, L., & Gosselin, K. (2013). Flipping the classroom to improve student performance and satisfaction. Journal of Nursing Education, 52(10), 597-599.

Manpreet Singh

An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having  just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’, 

The post 7 Activities For Understanding Distributive Property In A Fun Way appeared first on Number Dyslexia.

Discerning the same, recollecting the significance of games may be assisting. Interactive recreations may associate the young learners after school for finer awareness of this property. Further, online choices evidently ensure a cut above the level of convenience. For that reason, we here listed out a set of online games after research for you to grasp and exercise. 

Distributive property in multiple concepts

If the expression is given with a collection of numbers in and out of the bracket, this can be simplified by distributing the number outside to those inside the braces.  This process stipulates the need for the distributive property. While many comprehend that this property is applicable for basic operations like addition, it can be employed in other maths areas as well. Let us comprehend all of these in detail. 

• Addition and Subtraction: Applying distributive property is often facile in simple operations like addition and subtraction. For those equations represented in the form of a(b+c), it can be simplified as (ab+ac). This way, the derivation of solutions gets eased out.
  
• Arrays: Arranging pictures like circles, squares, or anything to depict numbers may often make learning easy. This process of reckoning is known as arrays. Complicated multiplications can be presented as arrays, split them up, and distributive property can be employed to solve them easily. The last activity among the below-mentioned options uses this concept to practice distributive properties.
  
• Variables: While pupils are in algebraic lessons, simplifying equations often obligate distributive properties. For instance, if the expression is 2(x-5)=3, it can be simplified instantaneously as x=13/2 employing this property.
  
• Matrices: The regulations like distributive property lie valid in Matrices as well. Say there are three matrices A, B, and C, then A(B+C) can be rewritten as AB+AC.  This property can thereby be perceived to be applied in many areas. 

Online games- Options for learning distributive properties

Here are eminent choices of games that we feel are apt for those aspirants looking to learn about Distributive property.  The gameplay of each of these may be distinct. Nonetheless, all of these ensure better management of leisure time. 

1. Solve using Distributive Property

Set up in a pond of fishes, This game is all about answering the practice questions to advance to the next levels. What makes it enticing is the visual and step-wise cues it offers for every question. The recreation opens with a couple of multiplication statements that act as the reference for the player. 

Below them, the actual expression that needs the distributive property to solve appears. Here, the player needs to reckon the answer based on these statements and choose an appropriate option to answer. The game is simple yet may be engaging for the early learners of the distributive property. With this game, the student not only learns to look at these questions from another side but also may develop multiple ways to come up with faster solutions. 

2. Simplify the Expression 

For those pupils looking for a serene practicing session, this pick may be their choice. Fabricated into a simple quiz board format, this game asks questions to players to simplify the algebraic expression. Four options are given in which one fitting answer needs to be selected. AS the game advances, the questions may get complicated. Further, fill-in-the-blanks format questions may also appear later. 

Few features like a Sound assistant, any time help, and options like scrabbling on the questions may make it a finer option than on paper practice. This game makes sure that the player gets versed with the distributive properties of variables and algebraic expressions. 

3. Snow Fight

Young adults and teens often love playing with snow- may it be online or offline. This game lets the pupils throw snowballs on the opponent’s bots to win, but before, there is a maths twist.

The game starts with interactive screens to explain the process. Now, a question related to distributive property is displayed with four options. The player needs to analyze and choose the right answer to access the game for a few turns. The questions in the game are not only word problems but also have those questions that involve a strong understanding of the concept. 

Once answered, the players can snow fight and win to access the next question. This game may entice various learners as gameplay is focused here with a flavor of math in it. The game may be a good leisure time practice game after class that polished up various traits of distributive properties as well. 

4. Distributive Properties of Multiplication

Looking at a concept from multiple dimensions may be crucial for discerning them better. This game may take the learners a step ahead towards Distributive properties. 

The game is easy to eyes questionnaire game. Here the game gives out questions to the players to solve using the distributive properties. Sometimes, two expressions that imply the same are depicted with one blank space. The player needs to find the fitting value at that place. 

This way, the player not only gets a chance to make direct disintegration of expression but also look into how an expression can be refabricated using the distributive properties. Login to the site and make access to this practice-oriented game that may turn into an admirable associative after school. 

5. Tiny Tap Distributive game

Some students may prefer learning from game-based pedagogies; for them, this game may be a choice. This choice starts with a definition and meaning of Distributive property. Then, it shows a list of examples with visual cues. The player understands the questions and chooses the right answer to traverse to the next example, which is divergent. 

Within a few minutes, this multi-slide game often warrants to preach students appropriately with examples, ensuring preliminary practice. All these features make this selection a take-in for a person learning or for mentors looking to assign for little ones. 

6. Challenge Board 

In simple terms, the Challenge board is a panel with a number of covers to select from. Each cover has certain points and a question answering which those points are awarded. This classroom game is fabricated into online pedagogy for practice here. 

This game is a two-player game, which asks the players to enter their names. Now, the players are taken to the main screen, where various concepts related to distributive properties are listed. One player chose a cover to open that question. Once they manage to solve this question, they are awarded relevant points.  

Now, the second player takes turns to play. The one with the most points at the end is the winner of the game.  Being a multiplayer game, this may create a sense of competition and thereby exhilarations in the players. Also, with a large set of questions to address, the game often warrants practicing multiple types of problems in one place effortlessly. 

7. Distributive Property (Multiplication)

Be it in the classroom or at home, practice on paper may need interactive assistance to comprehend the scenario better. This game may affirm the same with interactive digital square manipulatives to break down the question. 

The game opens with a simple distributive property question and the presentation of the same using a set of small square boxes. For instance, 3*3 is depicted as nine boxes. The player needs to go through these cues and come to an appropriate answer. 

For some questions, probable options may be given, while some questions come with blanks that the student needs to fill manually. To assist the player, hints are also provided. To access it, the student needs to hit the Hint button. 

This choice associates the pupils to make effective practice not only by reckoning the numbers but also by discerning the same pragmatically with the manipulative. 

Concluding thoughts 

Previously, the teaching style in schools often included a few worksheets along with classroom lectures. While they are effective even today, the changing trend has brought the significance of digital media to the limelight. With choices like online games, pupils can now get an extended list of practice strategies. With just a click away, the learners can access these games from their phones or tablets. Consequently, opting for these games may prove to be the finer use of screen time. Explore through the above games and check if any of them are a better fit for you in ensuring the orderliness of daily schedules. 

Manpreet Singh

An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having  just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’, 

The post 7 Online Games For Understanding Distributive Property appeared first on Number Dyslexia.