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Understand Rows and Columns in a Rectangular Array

Students will identify and describe the rows and columns of a rectangular array with up to 5 rows and 5 columns. They will understand that a row goes across and a column goes up and down, and they will count the total number of objects in the array.

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Understand Rows and Columns in a Rectangular Array

Grade 2 · Rectangular Arrays and Repeated Addition · question 1 of 3

0 of 12

12 rungs. A star at the top.

Fatima sees pentagon tiles by the pond. How many tiles are there in all?

Count them. Type the number.

How it is taught

0:00 of 2:57

Rows go across; columns go up and down.

Each row of an array has the same number of items.

Read it: Skip-count the equal groups

3 trays sit in a row, 3 apples on each. You could count every apple from 1 — or skip-count the trays: 3, 6, 9.

  1. Count the apples on 1 tray: 3.
  2. Skip-count a 3 for each tray: 3, 6, 9.
  3. Name the total from the last skip: 3 + 3 + 3 = 9.

Counting every apple from 1 works, but it is slow, and a skipped apple throws the whole count off.

Each tray holds the same 3 apples, so you only need that 3 again, not a new count.

3, 6, 9 are running totals — the last one is how many apples you have.

When every tray is the same, skip-count the trays, not the apples.

Adding the first 2 trays: 3, 6, and answering 6, forgetting the last tray.

There are 3 trays. Keep skip-counting until the last tray: 3, 6, 9.

5 + 5 = ___ — 10. 2 trays with 5 apples in each: skip-count the trays — 5, 10.

3 rows × 4 columns = 12

Today we'll learn about rows and columns. Imagine a tray of muffins lined up in a neat rectangle.

Here are our muffins. Look how they line up — straight across and straight down.

A row goes across, left to right. Here's the first row.

Let's count all the rows from top to bottom: one, two, three. Three rows!

A column goes up and down. Here's the first column.

Let's count the columns from left to right: one, two, three, four. Four columns!

How many muffins on the tray?●●●●●●●●●●●●ROW → goes across1233 rowsCOLUMN ↕ goes up and down12344 columns3 rows × 4 = 12twelve muffins in allTOTAL123 × 4 muffins
Grade 2 · Counting muffins on a tray

Three rows of four muffins. When we count them all, we get twelve.

Three rows and four columns make twelve in all. Nice work!

What you see

While they climb, your page writes one true line to ask about tonight, and a short note each Sunday.

MayaGrade 3 · Mathematics
Did you know?

A chessboard has 64 squares — share them out between the 8 rows and each row holds exactly 8.

Today’s goal
1 star — one skill mastered, every rung of its ladder climbed
Climbing now
Divide within 100

An example student.

MayaGrade 3 · Mathematics

Maya earned 2 stars this week — Interpret multiplication as equal groups, which took 6 answers over 3 days before its star landed 3 days ago and Multiply by 6, 7, 8 and 9. Next up: Divide within 100.

An example week.

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