Thank you for sharing your Packages and Groups experience. I also think it's a very important core fourth grade unit. Arrays and Shares reviews and extends much of what the students did in third grade. Packages and Groups really challenges fourth graders.
I like how you took the opportunity to explore perimeter of array after they used the arrays to construct the multiplication chart.
Students really gain a strong foundation to approach any multiplication problem, regardless of size. They don't seem to flinch when they move from single digit multiplication to multiple digit. The begin to see relationships between multiplication and division regardless of the size of number. They are always looking to make sense of the problems and looking for relationships of the numbers.
QUESTION (to Lee Ann and all other readers on this list): How did you continue the computation work students experience in Packages and Groups for the remaining part of the year (while the students were focusing on another unit)?
How have you communicated the ideas in Packages and Groups to your parent communication?
