Maryland Math 4.AT.A.2
The Standard
Multiply or divide to solve multiplicative comparison problems in context by using drawings and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem
Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for Mathematics (2025) · REPRESENT AND SOLVE PROBLEMS INVOLVING MULTIPLICATION AND DIVISION.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students solve stories about one amount being several times another. They draw equal groups or bars, write an equation with a symbol for the missing number, and multiply or divide to find it.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given that 24 stickers is four times Sam's amount, a student draws four equal parts and writes 4 × □ = 24. They find that Sam has 6 stickers and can multiply to find the larger amount when the smaller amount is given.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may add 4 when they read 'four times as many.' They may draw four groups of 24 instead of four groups that total 24, or divide the smaller amount by 4.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Maya has 28 beads, four times as many as Leo. Draw a model, write an equation with □ for Leo's beads, and find how many beads he has.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs 24 counters and four paper boxes; have them place equal counters in each box to show 24 is four times an unknown amount.
Ask students to sketch and explain why 24 ÷ 6 answers 'how many times as many' but 24 − 6 does not.
Play a matching game with cards showing comparison stories, bar models, and equations such as 5 × □ = 35.
Show labels from 6-ounce and 18-ounce cereal boxes; have students draw bars and find how many times as heavy the larger box is.
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Printable 4.AT.A.2 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 4.AT.A.2, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- 2.AT.A.2
Use addition and/or subtraction within 100 to solve two-step problems in context involving any situation or position of an unknown by using objects, drawings, a...
- 2.AT.A.1
Use addition and subtraction within 100 to solve one-step problems in context involving an unknown in any situation or position by using objects, drawings, and ...
- 4.AT.A.1
Interpret a multiplication situation as a comparison (e.g., interpret 35 = 5 × 7 as a statement that 35 is 5 times as many as 7 and 7 times as many as 5). Repre...
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