Number & Algebra

Chapter 6 | Understanding division

(You could use this resource sheet before starting the chapter to check whether students are familiar with both models of division.)

This displays the Getting started on page 129 of the Student Resource Book.

Teachers could provide commercially produced ‘fruit counters’ or pictures of fruit and ask students to model the different ways the people are suggesting the fruit be divided.

(You could use this sheet after the practical, ‘Sharing to divide’ on page 132 of the Student Resource Book.)

This displays two pictures and asks students to write a family of facts for each picture.

It is important that students can explain how each picture represents each fact. Encourage students to use the context to help them, e.g. “2 plates with 3 sandwiches is 6 sandwiches, so 2 x 3 = 6” and “6 sandwiches shared between 2 plates means 3 sandwiches on each plate, so 6 ÷ 2 = 3”

(You could use this sheet for further discussion after the teaching section on page 135 of the Student Resource Book.)

This displays a sheet with children feeding 20 pieces of bread to different numbers of seagulls.

Encourage students to use division strategies such as repeated subtraction or facts they know to share the bread, e.g. halving and doubles.
Students could then use materials such as counters, Unifix cubes, number lines or arrays to check their anticipated outcomes.
Discussion can be helpful to students who have not explicitly identified patterns in the numbers they have decided divide evenly.
The scenario could be used to explore other dividends, e.g. 24 or 36, for further practice.

(You could use this sheet for further discussion after the practical ‘Equal groups’ on page 137 of the Student Resource Book.)

This displays a resource sheet that involves students in finding the number of kebabs that can be made with groups of ingredients.

Students would enjoy creating kebabs with different numbers of Unifix blocks, different coloured playdough or actual fruit pieces for a special morning tea. It would be best to use multiples of 2, 5 or 10 at this level so that students are encouraged to use facts they know.

(You could use this sheet to revise both types of division situations prior to the activity on page 142 of the Student Resource Book.)

This displays two problems and asks students to demonstrate an understanding of the difference between a sharing and making equal groups problem.

Students could act out each problem to help them decide.
Understanding how division relates to the array model used for multiplication helps students understand the relationship between the two.