Cutting Snowflakes and Prime Factorization

When my kids were in 1st and 2nd grade, I realized that cutting snowflakes for Christmas decorations was a perfect way to learn about prime factorization. I took the opportunity to teach them, and this has paid dividends for their understanding of math for years. It made it easier for them to learn their multiplication tables, to learn to simplify fractions, and my daughter reports that when doing mental math she often factorizes the numbers first to make it easier. I wrote up my explanation as a lesson in case other parents or teachers want to try it with their own kids or class. It is intended for kids who have gotten comfortable with single digit multiplication with very small numbers, perfect for preparing for winter break in 2nd or 3rd grade. If you try it out, please let me know how it goes! Let’s make a snowflake. I’m going to fold this paper in half 3 times, then cut it at an angle. Can you guess how many points it will have when I unfold it? Before we unfold it, let’s think a…