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    Factor Finder

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    At a Glance

    Grades:4
    Subject:Math
    Topic:Operations and Algebraic Thinking; Factor Pairs/ Prime or Composite Numbers
    Lesson Length:30 - 40 mins

    Standards / Framework:

    Brief Description

    What will students learn in this activity?

    Students will learn about prime and composite numbers and their factors.

    Know Before You Start

    What should students know before this activity?

    This lesson is a great introduction to prime and composite numbers. Pairs of dice will be needed.

    Hook

    How can teachers introduce this lesson?

    • Read and discuss the sample comic.

      • What’s the difference between a prime and composite number?

      • Is Maggie correct about the buses? 

    • Practice finding the factors of prime and composite numbers as a class.

    • Have students work in pairs, taking turns providing numbers for their partner to determine if it is a prime or composite number and provide the factors. 

    Activity

    What will students do?

    • Give each student a pair of dice.
    • Have students roll the dice to create a two digit number (one number from each die.)
    • Students will now create a four-panel comic
      • In Panel 1: Have students explain the difference between prime and composite numbers by providing a definition/explanation in their own words.
      • In each of the following panels, students will share the number they rolled, determine if it is a prime or composite number and provide the factors.
      • Students will repeat this process for three separate numbers.

    Closure

    How can teachers wrap up the lesson?

    • Have students share their comic with a partner.

    Differentiation

    How can teachers differentiate this activity?

    • Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.
    • Allow students to use the voiceover feature to read their comics aloud.

    • Provide the definitions of prime and composite numbers for students. 

    • Provide a prime and composite number chart. 

    • Provide sentence stem: "____ is a prime/composite number because _______."

    • Allow students to work in pairs.

    Related Resources:

    • Comic to print or display: Comic.

    Related Content:

    Assign “Factor Finder”

    Related Ideas

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