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Associative Property

From BrainPOP

Associative Property
3rdMath
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Summary

Who do you associate with? In this BrainPOP movie, Tim and Moby introduce you to the associative property of addition and multiplication. Learn about grouping and why the associative property simplifies algebra problems. You’ll also find out what a problem involving the property might look like, and why you need to learn how to use parentheses in math. Discover where to start solving an addition or multiplication problem, and why moving things around is okay. Finally, you’ll learn how to use variables to talk about the associative property. We associate this movie with a good time!

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Teaching resources

Discussion questions

A few questions to talk through after watching Associative Property:

  1. What is one new thing you learned about associative property?
  2. Can you explain it to a partner in your own words?
  3. Where might you see this in the real world?
  4. What is one question you still have?

Quick work-a-long

Try it:

  • Write one sentence explaining associative property.
  • Draw or give one example of your own.