Tell the children, "You have two groups of five M&M's. Put five counters each in two paper cups or egg carton compartments. How many do you have altogether?" Explain that multiplying is just making equal groups and counting up the total. Each cup represents a group, and the counters represent the number of objects in each group. So two groups of five can be written 2 x 5. Either way, children can count the counters in the cups to see that the answer is 10. Give other examples, letting children create the model with the cups and counters and identify the corresponding multiplication sentence and answer.
Write a repeated addition sentence such as 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 on the board. Have children lay out four 10-strips using Unifix cubes or Cuisenaire rods. Explain that when you add the same number two or more times, it is the same as multiplying equal groups. Ask how many equal groups or strips each child has and how many are in each group. Explain that the number of equal groups times the number in each group is a short way to write repeated addition. There are four equal groups of 10 in 10 + 10 + 10 + 10, so it can be written as 4 x 10, which equals 40. Give more examples so the children can practice associating repeated addition and multiplication sentences.
Show the children a multiplication chart and ask them to look for patterns on the chart. They should notice that each column and row increases incrementally by the leftmost or topmost number. Explain that the number pattern shows the pattern of answers to multiplication problems in that number family. For example, in the 3s column or row, you count by threes, so 3 x 1 equals 3, 3 x 2 equals 6, 3 x 3 equals 9 and so on.
Tell the children that the factors in a multiplication sentence can change places without changing the product, just like the order of the addends in an addition problem does not change the answer. Have students make three groups of seven using cups and counters. Rearrange them so there are seven groups of three to demonstrate that it is just another way of organizing the same amount. In other words, 3 x 7 equals 7 x 3.