Greatest Common Factor and the Distributive Property

Have your students been learning about how to find the greatest common factor of two or more numbers? If they have mastered this skill, they may be ready to apply this understanding in a different way. In 6th grade, students will also use the distributive property to express a sum of two whole numbers 1-100 with a common factor as a multiple of a sum of two whole numbers with no common factor.

Teach Starter has created a match-up activity to give students the practice they need with matching addition expressions with those that show the same value with the distributive property. Prior to use, cut the 42 cards apart. Students match each addition expression to the corresponding distributive expression, making 21 matches.

Through this activity, students will identify the GCF of each number in the addition expression in order to match up the corresponding distributive expression card.

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding 

A team of dedicated, experienced educators created this resource to support your math lessons. 

In addition to individual student work time, use this match-up activity to enhance learning through guided math groups or whole class lessons.

If you have a mixture of above and below-level learners, check out these suggestions for keeping students on track with the concepts: 

🆘 Support Struggling Students

Help students who need help understanding the concepts by allowing students to use paper or a personal whiteboard to list out the factors for each number and circle the GCF.

➕ Challenge Fast Finishers

Students can create their own match-up cards by identifying two numbers that share common factors. Once they create 3-5 addition and distributive expressions, they can swap with another classmate to solve.

Check out some of our other resources that cover finding the greatest common factor and the distributive property!

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or Google Slides version of this resource. A recording sheet and answer key are also included with this download. 

Print on cardstock for added durability and longevity. Place all pieces in a folder or large envelope for easy access. 

Sustainability Tip: Print a few recording sheets on cardstock and slip them into dry-erase sleeves. Students can record their answers with a whiteboard marker, then erase and reuse them.  

This resource was created by Jillian Sloane, a teacher in West Virginia and a Teach Starter Collaborator.

Don’t stop there! We’ve got more activities and resources that cut down on lesson planning time:  

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Greatest Common Factor and the Distributive Property Worksheets

Determine the GCF and use the distributive property to express the sum of two whole numbers as a multiplication equation with a common factor.

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Greatest Common Factor – Task Cards

Practice how to find the greatest common factor (GCF) with this set of 24 task cards.

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Greatest Common Factor – Mini Book

Learn different strategies to find the greatest common factor with this mini-book.