Teaching Long Division in 5th Grade
“This week we are going to be introducing a new concept- Long division.” (Insert 25 student groans.) We all know that students dislike dividing because they think it is hard and they don’t really understand the division process or they are not fluent with the multiplication facts. Either way, the students hear division and they start to shut down. If I am being honest I use to dread division more than the students because they hated it so much. If I’m being really honest, I hated division so much, after 8 years in 4th grade I asked to move to third grade!
Fast forward a year, and I find myself in 5th grade having to teach division with double digit divisors!
Multiplication and Division Fact Practice
Since many of my students are not fluent with their facts I decided to spend time reviewing multiplication facts during math rotations as I did with my 3rd grade students. We practiced our facts using multiplication wrap ups. We also skip counted on our fingers- which is (the secret to) what helps us become confident dividers. Yes- I just said we count on our fingers in math class!
Once the students become (more) fluent with their multiplication facts, we started “counting the first 10 multiples” really fast on our fingers. When we count our multiples on our fingers, we also are identifying the other “factor” in our multiplication problem. We then turn this method of skip counting into finding our quotient quickly. This is when the “lightbulb” starts to turn on. When this happens, I know they are ready to move on to 5th grade division problems.
Font End Estimation with Division
When I introduce “5th grade division”, I spend about two days dividing by multiples of 10. First, I always introduce two-digit divisors by using 50 as my divisor. Second, I teach my students how to use “front end estimation” to help identify the partial quotient. Teaching using this method, students perception about division starts to change affecting their attitude towards division in general. ( I make sure to reinforce if students knew all facts as fast as their 5’s, that students would be able to solve all division questions as quick.) Once the students are ready to work independently they practice on their own on a guided practice worksheet.
Long Division Practice for 5th Grade
In addition to the guided worksheet students were able to work in pairs to complete the Long Division Boom Cards. (Students needing assistance with this skill worked in pairs at my small group table.) Boom Cards are a great way to reinforce skills and build confidence. Students work out each problem on the digital task cards to show their work. Once each question is complete, they hit submit and correct work will turn blue and incorrect work will turn red.
Self-Checking Digital Task Cards for Long Division
Once the students have mastered dividing by multiples of 10, they are ready to handle the “hard stuff” double digit divisors without a zero in the ones place. They are able to use what they have learned about the process of long division and front end estimation to solve any 5th grade division problem with greater ease.
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Resources to help students master long division.