Story from th field by the teacher Samar Lifdawi
In this lesson, which aimed to strengthen students’ understanding of the multiplication facts of 3 and their application in real-life situations, I intentionally implemented a Project-Based Learning (PBL) approach. The goal was to move students beyond memorizing multiplication facts and enable them to use them to solve an authentic problem.
The lesson began with a real-life scenario involving a garden of a specified size and a number of seedlings that needed to be distributed within it in an organized manner. From the outset, I told my students, “Today, you are not students—you are agricultural engineers,” placing them in a realistic context that required planning, critical thinking, and decision-making.
Before starting the task, the students discussed the project requirements and examined the dimensions of the garden. They then began sketching initial plans for arranging the seedlings. Throughout this process, they used the multiplication facts of 3 to determine the number of seedlings in each row or group and to compare different arrangement options. In this way, multiplication became a practical tool that helped them organize the garden and solve the problem rather than simply being an abstract mathematical operation.
Next, the students worked collaboratively in groups using simple, readily available materials such as wooden skewers, paper cups, and scissors to create models of the garden. This activity also provided an opportunity to incorporate the concept of recycling and to make creative, environmentally friendly use of available resources.
During the project, rich discussions took place within the groups about the most effective ways to arrange the seedlings, the appropriate number of rows, and the number of seedlings in each row. Students continuously relied on the multiplication facts of 3 to verify the accuracy of their proposed solutions. As they worked, they naturally practiced counting, organizing, comparing, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
My role throughout the activity was to guide the students and pose thought-provoking questions such as: “How did you make sure that all the seedlings were distributed?”, “Is there another way to organize the seedlings using multiplication facts?”, and “Which design makes the best use of the available space?” These questions encouraged students to review and refine their ideas continuously.
At the end of the project, each group presented its model to the class, explaining how the seedlings were arranged, how the multiplication facts of 3 were used to reach a solution, and the challenges they encountered during implementation and how they overcame them. The students demonstrated a clear understanding of multiplication as repeated addition and as a tool for organizing objects into equal groups.
The purpose of the lesson was not merely to memorize the multiplication facts of 3, but to empower students to apply them in a meaningful real-life context through a hands-on project that integrated mathematics, planning, collaboration, and creativity. Through this experience, the students came to understand that multiplication is not just a set of facts to memorize, but a valuable skill that can be used to organize real-world situations and solve practical problems.