Dear Array Makers,

I like to think of math as the process of making models. Models help us better understand things because models break those things into their parts. We don’t just make models of trains, cars, and airplanes, however; we can also make models of numbers.

One way we can make a model of a multiplication problem is with an array. You have been working with arrays since Second Grade, and you see them all the time in everyday life. For homework this week, you will collect and bring to class arrays that you notice in the real world. One of the main jobs of a mathematician is to see math coursing through everyday life. Rather than just seeing a muffin tin as a muffin tin, a mathematician sees it as a 3×4 rectangular array.

If you have a firm grasp of arrays, you will be prepared for much of what we’ll learn in 5th grade–multiplication, fractions, percents, and area, just to name a few.

Let’s have a great day,

Mr. H