Multiplication•Grade 2•Drill

Grade 2 Arrays and Equal Addends

Rectangular arrays and equal addends in grade 2 — count the rows, then add them. Sixteen problems on a free printable PDF with the answer key.

CCSSAligned to Common Core 2.OA.4: Use addition to find the total number of objects arranged in rectangular arrays with up to 5 rows and 5 columns; write an equation as a sum of equal addends.

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Three different problem sets — same skill, same layout, fresh numbers.

Preview — Set A

Find the total in each array by adding the equal rows.

1.
An array has 2 rows of 2. How many in all? 2 + 2 =
2.
An array has 2 rows of 3. How many in all? 3 + 3 =
3.
An array has 2 rows of 4. How many in all? 4 + 4 =
4.
An array has 2 rows of 5. How many in all? 5 + 5 =
5.
An array has 3 rows of 2. How many in all? 2 + 2 + 2 =
6.
An array has 3 rows of 3. How many in all? 3 + 3 + 3 =
7.
An array has 3 rows of 4. How many in all? 4 + 4 + 4 =
8.
An array has 3 rows of 5. How many in all? 5 + 5 + 5 =
9.
An array has 4 rows of 2. How many in all? 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 =
10.
An array has 4 rows of 3. How many in all? 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 =
11.
An array has 4 rows of 4. How many in all? 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 =
12.
An array has 4 rows of 5. How many in all? 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 =
13.
An array has 5 rows of 2. How many in all? 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 =
14.
An array has 5 rows of 3. How many in all? 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 =
15.
An array has 5 rows of 4. How many in all? 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 =
16.
An array has 5 rows of 5. How many in all? 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 =

Other ways to solve this

Using 2 × 2 from this sheet (Set A, problem 1). Each method below reaches the same answer, 4, by a different route; pick the one that makes the most sense to you.

Equal groups

Helps when multiplication is new: it shows what the two numbers mean.

Step 1Make 2 groups with 2 in each group. That is 2 rows of 2.
Step 2Add the groups: 2 + 2 = 4.
- 2 + 2 = 4
Step 3So 2 × 2 = 4.

Step 1 of 3

Skip counting

Helps with the times tables: say the multiples in order and stop at the right one.

Step 1Count by 2s, 2 times.
- 2, 4
Step 2The 2nd number you say is 4.
Step 3So 2 × 2 = 4.

Step 1 of 3

What this worksheet covers

Sixteen multiplication problems fill this drill page; problem 6 asks "An array has 3 rows of 3. How many in all? 3 + 3 + 3", and the sheet stays at that level throughout. Within that, the quantities stay small, which keeps the idea in the foreground rather than the size of the numbers. Further down, problem 11 asks "An array has 4 rows of 4. How many in all? 4 + 4 + 4 + 4". The sheet sits inside Common Core 2.OA.4, in the grade 2 Operations & Algebraic Thinking strand.

Skills practiced

The grade 2 multiplication sequence covers equal groups, arrays as repeated addition, and skip counting by 2s, 5s and 10s; this page sits inside it. Specifically, the problems practice grade 2 Arrays and Equal Addends. To finish it, a student has to recall the multiplication facts quickly and accurately, without counting up to them. Ten different answers appear across the sixteen problems, so a student cannot copy one result down the page.

About the drill format

This drill runs 16 problems in a steady layout, so the eye never has to hunt for the next one; problem 6, "An array has 3 rows of 3. How many in all? 3 + 3 + 3" shows the level it holds. Sixteen untimed products let a student practice the algorithm while accuracy, not speed, is the target.

Set A, Set B and Set C

Set A is the original sheet, and Sets B and C were derived from it problem by problem: each number became a slot redrawn with the same shape, and every answer was recomputed exactly. Where Set A's problem 9 is "An array has 4 rows of 2. How many in all? 2 + 2 + 2 + 2", Set B's is "An array has 3 rows of 5. How many in all? 5 + 5 + 5".

How to use this worksheet

Five focused minutes beats twenty distracted ones at grade 2. Fold this drill in half, do one part of the sixteen problems today and the rest tomorrow, and let the student use fingers or counters if they want them. Ask the student to re-work one missed multiplication problem from scratch on Set B rather than correcting it in place; the second attempt shows whether the method changed.

One mistake to watch for

Arrays are counted one square at a time. Problem 9 on this grade 2 drill page, "An array has 4 rows of 2. How many in all? 2 + 2 + 2 + 2", is where to look for it.

Rows have not yet been seen as equal groups that can be added.

Write the repeated-addition sentence beneath each array and read it before counting.

The full guide to teaching multiplicationTeaching multiplication from equal groups to integer exponents: the grade 2–8 progression, times-table strategies, and the errors that stall students.