The same amount, seen more than one way

Flash a quick picture of equal groups, give the class a few quiet seconds to look, then ask how many they see and how they counted. Some kids will count every dot. Some will skip count by the group size. Some will already see the groups and just multiply. Reveal after they've had a chance to say it out loud, since the strategy they describe is the real lesson, not the total.

The same amount looks different depending on how it's arranged: dots bunched into groups, those same dots in neat rows and columns, or that total reached by hopping down a number line. Showing a class more than one of these helps them see it is all the same multiplication, not a picture they only recognize one way. You can also drop each group into a ten-frame if that helps.