Deepen the number sense of young mathematicians by exploring the process of prime factorization. Follow along with this step-by-step presentation that explains how factor trees are used to break a composite number down into its prime...

Young mathematicians discover trees organize more than just families — they help factor, too. The lesson begins with factor trees and develops slowly to factoring by grouping and special patterns. 

When one method isn't enough to teach GCF, try two! This interactive webpage introduces factors and the prime factor tree to find the greatest common factor of two numbers. After the lesson, have learners click to try the two examples...