Teaching Prime And Composite Numbers – If your students are struggling with the idea of primes and composites, this hands-on primes exploration activity can be helpful, especially for the kinesthetic learner in your class.
The setup is simple: students cut 100 squares to use as algebra tiles. You can get the free 100 square template here.
Teaching Prime And Composite Numbers
Since a prime number is interesting in that the only numbers divisible by it are 1 and itself, if a number is a prime number, we cannot make a rectangle from the number of squares manipulating it.
What Are Composite Numbers? Explained For Primary
Let’s start with 24. I counted my 24 squares to use in this research. At first it may seem like we can’t make a rectangle… but we need to try more than one configuration.
To prove that a rectangular number is composite, there must be only one way to construct the rectangle, but some numbers naturally form more than one rectangle. Some students may find 24 2×12 configurations. If there is even one configuration that forms a rectangle, we have a composite number!
After several experiments, we find that it is impossible to make a rectangle out of 23 squares, so 23 must be the initial value.
The more students work on each number, the better. This helps to ensure that no configuration is omitted so that students can be sure that the number is a prime number.
Mathematical Square Maze. Game For Kids. Number Labyrinth. Education Worksheet. Activity Page. Puzzle For Children. Cartoon Characters. Color Vector I Stock Vector Image & Art
If you want to learn more about using algebra tiles, I’ve created an algebra tiles tutorial video that covers ways to use algebra tiles in middle school math. If you’ve been following this site for a while, you probably know that we’re all about LEGO® and we love using LEGO® bricks to learn! This math lesson lets kids use LEGO® bricks to determine which whole numbers are prime numbers. This math activity is great for visual or kinesthetic learners because it allows them to really visualize the concept of prime numbers.
This is a very low-prep math activity – all you need are printable worksheets and 2×2 square LEGO® bricks.
I recommend this math activity for advanced 5th grade or 4th grade. Children should be confident in the concept of multiplication and it will be helpful if they are familiar with factors. If not, the factors can be explained quickly before starting.
I created this activity for my 5th grader and used it as an introduction to prime numbers before starting to explore prime numbers in his math book. It was a fun way to explore the concept and really helped it stick. He’s pretty much the poster child for kinesthetic learning! You should always touch and feel everything…
Factors, Multiples, Prime & Composite Numbers
The printable is at the bottom of this post. I made a help page and a save page. You can review the instruction sheet with your child, but children should be able to do this on their own. I wanted this to be a stand-alone activity because I think it would make a great math center in a classroom or library!
You will need 2 x 2 LEGO bricks – 30 is enough, but I recommend 50. Thirty Bricks allows children to find prime numbers up to 30. A base plate (either 16 x 16 or 32 x 32) is nice, but not required.
The prime number is any integer greater than 1 whose only factors are itself and 1. Eight is not prime because its factors are 1, 2, 4 and 8. But there are no two numbers that can be multiplied together to get it. 13. (other than 1 x 13), so it is a prime number.
If the number is composite, students can make a rectangle using that number of bricks. The sides of a rectangle must be 2 or more because the length of 1 side (eg a 1 x 7 rectangle) does not prove that the number is composite. Any number of bricks can be lined up in a straight line.
Determining If A Number Is Prime
In the photo below you can see what the students discover… you can’t make a rectangle with a certain number of bricks! This means that one is prime because it has no factors other than itself and one.
I asked Owen to write down the factors of each composite number. This is good practice! At the same time, it can be seen that he wrote very large and then needed two recording pages. So you can decide what you want to do. If you don’t write the factors or write them too big, you can put a lot of mixed numbers in there!
Note: I chose to count bricks instead of counting studs in this activity. I liked the idea of moving around individual units. If you decide to count the studs, I recommend using only 1×1 blocks so that the rectangle is easy to manipulate.
Ready to print your original LEGO® number math activity? Click on the link below, the file will open and you can print it. Our math class was so much fun today!!! It was so much fun that I thought it might just be “bloggable”. 😉
Teaching Factors And Mulitples
We start our day with 15 minutes of skills practice (every day) – we are still learning those multiplication facts – but I try to make it as fun as possible to get them involved. We currently use Tic Tac Toe for Smart Board – the kids love it. I divide the class into two groups (5th and 6th grade) and they work the solutions on their board before answering. They are allowed to check the answers with a partner before one of the students in the group suggests the answer out loud. So cool! The best part… well, I think the picture below speaks for itself…
Then we moved on to today’s lesson – a review of prime and composite numbers. We did a math journal entry on them yesterday (check back Sunday) but we’ve been discussing them throughout our current unit.
I started by randomly distributing my magnetic numbers (you can get a copy of the numbers by clicking the link – just print on magnetic paper). I set up two circles – one for primes and one for composites – and asked the students to come and put their numbers in the correct circles. Here’s what we got after the first try:
Then today we used our current reading strategy, turn and talk, for math. Students “go back and talk” with their classmates to discuss the placement of some numbers. They had to prove and convince other students why some numbers should be moved. Here’s what we came up with:
Recognizing Prime And Composite Numbers (video)
Ice! So, we started old school – with magnetic numbers and whiteboards – so then we switched to our own technology. I showed the students a brainPOP video about prime numbers. I’ve subscribed to the app on my iPad, so I put the iPad under the document camera and play it. (Yes, I know I could use a little tweaking to connect my iPad to my computer, even me
I think I have one, but the iPad goes under the camera much easier). 😉
We then used our netbooks to play a fun original combo game – Fruit Shoot. They had a lot of fun with him. You can see one of my students using his math notebook to check his answers while playing. (Congratulations, happy teacher).
We ended today’s lesson with a fun prime number maze that I created using worksheet activities. If you haven’t used this site before, you should check it out. Creating a worksheet (and differentiating worksheets for students at different levels in your class) is quick and easy. We don’t do a lot of worksheets in my class, but every now and then a student needs a little practice on a concept… or misses class because they’re sick or traveling… or my kids need something extra. A little to keep them busy at home… ) This combination and primes activity forces children to sort the numbers into two categories and explain why they belong there.
Maths Ks2: Prime Suspects 1
This is the next logical step. After our kids have mastered multiplication and division, it’s time to start learning primes and composites. And this sum and prime activity makes them recognize these two important concepts.
Before starting the activity, it is important to know what is a prime number and what is a composite number.
A prime number is “an integer greater than 1 that cannot be obtained by multiplying other integers”. For example, you cannot multiply any whole number other than three to get three. 1 x 3 = 3 and that’s it!
But a composite number is an integer that can
Prime Numbers Chart Grade 4 8
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