Critters alert! Follow the directions, study the example, and then add to find how many critters are in each picture. Show how you can use multiplication to get the same answer faster.

Suppose you see three groups of flies, and each group has 2 flies. How many flies are there in total? You can solve it in two different ways. First, try repeated addition: 2 + 2 + 2 = 6. Then use multiplication: 3 x 2 = 6. Both give you the same answer, but multiplication is quicker!