It’s A Full Flight

As we were boarding the plane to New York, the flight attendant announced that it was going to be a full flight. I explained to Morgan that this means every seat will be taken and we will have to sit next to a stranger. She then wondered, "How many people are on this plane?"

Conversation Starters

How are the seats arranged on the plane?
How many people are sitting in one row?
How many rows are there?
What number is repeated many times?
What are some ways we can solve the problem?

Connection to Learning

Be able to think logically about new situations.
Make connections between mathematical ideas.
Understand that multiplication is repeated addition.
To explain different processes used to arrive at solutions.

Building Vocabulary

Rows
Multiplication

Further Discussions

Morgan counted that there were 23 rows with 6 people in each row on the plane. Because she had not learned how to multiply two digit numbers, she used addition to add the number 23, six times. However, for our returning flight home, the plane was not full. I then asked Morgan, "Should we add 23 six times again?

View Connections