Multiplying whole numbers word problems

Students turn a story into a multiplication and solve it with the standard algorithm.

• Find the rate and the number of times it repeats: 918 boxes a day for 30 days
• Multiply a four-digit number by one digit: 1,165 × 8
• Build a two-step plan: 30 + 31 = 61 days, then 9,578 × 61
• Leave out a number the question does not need

Multi-digit multiplication is 5.NBT.B.5; solving multistep word problems is 4.OA.A.3.

Print page one. For each story, have your child underline the question first, then circle only the numbers it needs.

• Write a sentence such as "boxes per day × days = total boxes".
• Do the multiplication in the grid space, lining up the digits.
• Answer with a full sentence and the unit: boxes, newspapers or notifications.

Compare with page two, which lists the facts, the setup and the boxed answer for each story.

• Using every number: the population of 149,580 in the third story is not part of the answer.
• Skipping the first step: April has 30 days and May has 31, so multiply by 61, not by 2 or 60.
• Leaving off the unit: 27,540 alone does not say it is boxes ordered in 30 days.

Next, try word problems that multiply three numbers or more.