Area model first
Show 23 × 145 as a rectangle split into hundreds, tens and ones. Then show how the standard algorithm gives the same partial products. Kids understand what they're doing instead of just following steps.
Why it works: showing first, practicing together, then letting kids try alone is the "gradual release" model teachers have relied on for decades (Pearson and Gallagher, 1983).
Try it with2x3 Digit Multiplication WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →























