How should a country distribute the tax burden? What about the distribution of the sweets, desserts, and yummy goodness around dinner tables? And distribution in mathematics?

It’s called the “Distributive Property.”

Consider how we use distributive property. How do we distribute in our daily lives:

1. How should we distribute our time, our energy?
2. What will we do with these 24 hours?
3. How will our resources be parceled out?

We “deal in shares” all the time! We distribute our attention, our money, our work, and our play.

We do the same in mathematics, even in evaluating algebraic expressions. Distributive property anyone? Let’s start by breaking the word, distribute, into parts.

Essentially, to distribute is to separate into portions. Cool right? That’s distributive property for you!

See also: Subtracting flexibly to learn more about working with numbers with a pliable attitude! Click HERE.

In this lesson, Math Specialist Brittany looks at the meaning of “distributive,” supplies tangible examples, partnered with precise, explicit, mathematical language that sticks, for example: “2 groups of x + 3.” Add a dash of subitizing, and we have the optimization of who we are at MFM. This is us! 

This is more than multisensory math tutoring; it is intervention exemplified.

Related: Mental Math With the Distributive Property 

This awesome detailed lesson is a little over 7 minutes and well worth the attention of our kids. You won’t be sorry you took a look! Click “play” and distribute some time and attention to your math brain.

MFM Authors