Ask the students for volunteers to help with the lesson. Keep the math problem simple by selecting only three students. Ask the students how many apples and oranges are needed in total if each volunteer wanted two apples and two oranges.
Write the components of the math problem. Use an example the students will enjoy, oranges and apples will grasp the their attention. Involve the students in the thinking process. Use words to come up with the three factors needed to solve the problem.
Write down the number three on the board, using the students as the first factor. Explain that the number of volunteers is the first factor because it does not depend on the number of apples and oranges.
Show the students by writing on the board that the oranges and apples are the second and third factors in no specific order. Explain that the number of apples and oranges are the second and third factors because they depend on the number of volunteers.
Write down the three factors on the board. Group the oranges and apples in brackets. Keep the number of the volunteers outside the brackets. It will look like this: "3x(2x2)=."
Multiply the oranges and the apples first, the answer is four. Multiply four by the number of the volunteers, the final answer is 12 oranges and apples in total are needed.