This document presents a method for multiplying multi-digit numbers by breaking them down into place values. It demonstrates multiplying two sample numbers, 12 x 7 and 9 x 5, step-by-step. It then shows how to use the distributive property to calculate the multiplication more efficiently by distributing the multiplication across place values. For example, 12 x 7 is calculated as (10 + 2) x (5 + 2) which is equivalent to 10 x 5 + 10 x 2 + 2 x 5 + 2 x 2.