Math lesson plan · 6th grade (Year 7 in England) · 60 minutes
Find every factor using factor pairs
Number sense
CCSS 4.OA.B.4CCSS 6.NS.B.4England: Y5 Multiplication and divisionEngland: KS3 Number
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Find every factor using factor pairs.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Factors, multiples, primes
Leads to: Greatest common factor of two or three numbers
Materials: Place value chart, Base-ten blocks or a number line, Mini whiteboards and pens, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 6 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Factors, multiples, primes). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Which number is a factor of 40? (12 / 9 / 2 / 11) → 2Prompt: A factor divides the number exactly, with no remainder.
- Is 36 prime or composite? (Prime / Composite) → CompositePrompt: A prime number has exactly two factors: 1 and itself.
- What is the 10th multiple of 3? (The 1st multiple is 3.) → 30Prompt: Multiples of 3: 3, 6, 9, …
Hook · 6 min
- Show a number in the news or a price tag and ask what each digit is worth.
- Share the objective: Find every factor using factor pairs. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 12 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: How many factors does 24 have?
- Step 1: 1 × 24, 2 × 12, 3 × 8, 4 × 6
- Step 2: Factors: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24. That is 8 factors.
- Answer: 8
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 12 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- How many factors does 36 have? → 9Prompt: Work in pairs: 1 × ?, 2 × ?, 3 × ? … until the pairs meet.
- Complete the factor pair: 72 = 24 × ? → 3Prompt: Divide 72 by 24.
You do: independent practice · 17 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 7 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Complete the factor pair: 120 = 6 × ? → 20Prompt: Divide 120 by 6.
- Ravi lists the factors of 72: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 24, 36, 72. One factor is missing. Which one? → 18Prompt: Pair up the factors: smallest with largest, and so on.
Watch out for
- Reading 1,045 as one thousand four hundred five: point to each place and say its value.
- Thinking a longer number is always bigger, even with decimals (0.45 vs 0.5).
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Factors, multiples, primes.
- Use concrete materials: place value chart.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Move on to: Greatest common factor of two or three numbers.
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/math/grade-6.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder