Delightful Division

Just a few weeks ago when I began introducing long division, I never dreamed that I would title a blog post Delightful Division - yet here I am!  My kiddos are really starting to get it and many are even saying, "Long division is fun!"  Here are a few of the things we have done to get to that point.

Manipulatives Are A Must!

Hands on is definitely the way to go!  Getting them to understand the concrete concepts and place value is so crucial.  We have a Duck Dynasty Division theme going on, so we used the idea of them packing duck calls equally into boxes.  Then I gave them base ten blocks and we started working on two digit division problems.  The problem above shows 36/3.  The student drew three "boxes" and divided the duck calls (base ten blocks) into the boxes.  Later we worked with the idea of regrouping the tens into units when the numbers didn't work out evenly.

Going from Concrete to Representational

This picture I love because it shows a student invented method of solving the problem that she devised all on her own after using the base ten blocks. The problem above shows 598/2.  She drew two "boxes" on her board and then began to divide first by 100s, then 50s, then 40s, then ones.  Her own version of partial product method I suppose.  I really love this because she is one of my strugglers, so to see her think so out of the box is AMAZING!  I am so proud of her!

Have A Little Help From My Friends

Peer tutoring is something I believe strongly in!  I pair my kiddos who "get it" with a few who are still working on it and let them work together.  The "teacher kid" coaches as the others work along.  They love this!  They don't mind if they are coaches or the coached - they just love working with their peers.

The best part is that they are totally engaged and on-task!

They were using cards from my Don't Duck Division Long Division Style Game, but any task cards would work as well.

Games!

Speaking of the Don't Duck Division Game, we also played a lot of rounds of this game.  I love using games with my students because they hardly realize they are learning when they are playing a game!

They really loved seeing their favorite Duck Dynasty characters on the cards and have been asking me, "How did you do that Mrs. Malloy?"

We finish our division assessments on Friday and then it is on to fractions next week.  What are you working on in math?

Thursday Throw down - Interactive Long Division

I am linking up with I'm Lovin Lit for Thursday Throw down with a few things that I did to help make long division easier for some of my kiddos.  

We started using manipulatives to help them fully grasp the concept of how bigger numbers are divided into smaller groups.  I gave the students base ten blocks and a few easier division problems to start with such as 36/3 and 48/4.  They drew boxes to represent the divisor and then divided the blocks into each box.

Later we moved on to more complex problems that required them to regroup the tens into units, but of course I forgot to take pics of that :/ !  But, hopefully you get the idea.

And. I know that the standard algorithm for division is not introduced until 6th grade in the Common Core, but I have a lot of parents who teach it to their kiddos anyway, so it is easier to show them in class as well.  There are so many steps involved that a few kiddos lose track, so... I finally came up with this graphic organizer template that really helped out A LOT!!! Some of my kiddos who were struggling and struggling were really getting it and actually saying, "Hey this is easy!  And kind of fun!"

I simply free hand wrote the boxes along with little codes (D,M,S, B) for the steps required to get that box's digit.  Then I laminated them quickly during recess and we were ready to go!  The kids used dry erase markers and we solved a few problems.  And, I am happy to say it was so much LESS painful!

You can actually see hints of smiles on kid's faces who had been near tears before recess!

I just made these  Division Games that I can't wait to use after the break!

Divisible Me A Division Game

Don't Duck Division Long Division Style

Don't Duck Division - Basic Facts

And If you have made it this far, I am giving away one of the above products of your choice to the first three comments! Just leave your email and the item you would like :)

Cookies for Santa - A Fun Way To Practice Our Math Facts

In keeping with the holiday spirit, I decided to spruce up our math fact practice with these adorable Cookies for Santa Kaboom game!  The kids had a blast!

I put all of the "cookie" pieces in a leftover Christmas cookie tin upside down.  The students pulled the cards out and attempted to answer the fact. If they got it correct, they got to keep the card.  If they got it wrong, it went back into the tin. If they got the dreaded KABOOM card - they had to put all of their cards back.  The winner is the kiddo with the most cards when time was up.

Sorry about that yucky glare!  And yes, we were wearing coats in the classroom - it has been FREEZING this week!

You can find the Cookies for Santa Cards in my Teachers Pay Teachers or Teachers Notebook Stores below:  I have addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division versions.

Teachers Pay Teachers

Addition 

Subtraction

Multiplication

Division

Teachers Notebook

Addition 

Subtraction

Multiplication

Division

If you would like to win one, leave a comment below with your email address and I will send one to the first three people who leave a comment!