Divide it Up!

Third Grade Math

by Anna Parrish June 4, 2015

Make division come to life with this hands-on, introductory lesson on the operation of division! Students will use
authentic problems and manipulatives to experience division in action.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to use equal groups, drawings, and measurement quantities to solve division problems.
Students will construct solutions to solve simple division problems, and will be able to explain and defend how
they generated answers for division problems.

Materials and preparation Key terms

Eighteen Pencils divide

Three containers (such as jars, plates, or bowls) equal groups
Counters (such as jelly beans, unifix cubes,
etc.)
Crayon Manipulatives attachment
Donut Division worksheet
Donut Manipulatives attachment
Flower Pot template (one flower pot per
student)
Flower Manipulatives attachment
Class set of the Baseball Division worksheet
Baseball Manipulatives attachment
Class set of the Division World Problems: Divide
‘Em Up! worksheet
SMARTBoard Lesson: Dividing Flowers
Fish Bowl attachment

Attachments

Baseball Manipulatives (PDF)

Crayon Manipulatives (PDF)
Donut Division (PDF)
Donut Manipulatives (PDF)
Flower Manipulatives (PDF)
Dividing Flowers (NOTEBOOK)
Fish Bowl (JPG)
Flower Pot Template (PDF)
Baseball Division (PDF)
Division Word Problems: Divide 'Em Up! (PDF)

Introduction (5 minutes)

Invite six students to the front of the classroom to participate in acting out a word problem.
Read the following word problem: “It is the beginning of a new school year! Six students have one

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 package of 18 pencils. They want to share the pencils equally. How many pencils will each student get?”
Explain that to solve this problem, you must divide, or separate the pencils into equal groups, each
with the same number of pencils.
Display 18 pencils and ask a different student to act as the “leader” and to distribute the pencils among
the students.
Explain that together, you have just solved the division problem. You started with 18 pencils, and shared
them equally between six students, proving that 18 divided by 6 is 3.
Write the equation on the board for all students to see:

18 ÷ 6 = 3

EL

Beginning

Provide vocabulary cards to students with key terminology they will use throughout the lesson. Include
words, such as: distribute, division, equal groups, divide, equation.

Intermediate

Ask students to summarize the word problem and its solution to a partner, and then to the whole group.
Allow students to use their home language (L1) or new language (L2) in their discussions.

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling (10 minutes)

Tell your class that you will be solving additional division problems.
Take out counters, jelly beans, or other objects and 2 jars.
Using 8 counters, model the process of distributing 8 counters between two jars.
Write the equation on the board:

8 ÷ 2 = 4

Repeat with the following division problems:

10 ÷ 2 = 5
14 ÷ 2 = 7

EL

Beginning

Have students talk to a partner about the teacher examples. Encourage them to use their vocabulary
cards as a reference.

Intermediate

Invite students to rephrase the key ideas of division to the whole group, using the teacher examples as
reference points.

Guided Practice (10 minutes)

Have the students sit in a “fishbowl” set-up (see picture for example). The majority of the class will be
seated in the outer circle, while 3 students will be seated in the inner circle.
Tell the students they will practice dividing between a group of 3.
Take out 6 crayon counters. Tell the students: “We have 6 crayons. We want to share these crayons
between 3 students in the middle of the circle. How many pencils should each student get?”
Appoint a class leader to be in charge of distributing the 6 crayons between the three students. After the
crayons are distributed, write the following equation on the board:

6 ÷ 3 = 2

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 Repeat the process of equally sharing crayons between 3 students, practicing the following equations:

9 ÷ 3 = 3
12 ÷ 3 = 4

EL

Beginning

Ask students to choose a word problem and explain it to a supportive partner or a peer with the same L1,
if possible. Allow them to use pictures to support their explanation.

Intermediate

Provide a word problem for the additional division problems so context is clear for students.
Allow students to use bilingual reference materials to look up any unknown words in the word problems.

Independent working time (15 minutes)

Distribute donut cut-out manipulatives and Donut Division worksheet.

Have students use cut-outs of donuts to solve the division problems. Students should first count out the
total number of donuts, and then separate them into groups.
Students will complete the Donut Division worksheet.
EL

Beginning

Have students work in a small, teacher-led group. Ask questions to get students discussing their
mathematical process and reasoning as they complete each problem.

Intermediate

Let students work with a partner to complete the worksheet.

Related books and/or media

BOOK: Equal Shmequal: A Math Adventure by Virginia Kroll

VIDEO: How to Share Equally by Learningvids4kids
VIDEO: My Dog Division Song by Mr. R's Songs for Teachers
Find interactive books for each child’s level.

Differentiation

Enrichment: Have students who need a greater challenge color/create flowers and cut them out.
Students will then practice distributing them between the pots, creating different equations and
illustrating the process of division. They can do the same with the Baseball Division worksheet and the
baseball manipulatives.
Support: Help students who are struggling using the SMARTBoard lesson, Dividing Flowers. Have
students participate in moving flowers to the flower pots to create division equations. Give these students
flower pots and flower manipulatives. Have students practice dividing the flowers with various equations.

Technology Integration

Dividing Flowers (SMARTboard Lesson)

Assessment (10 minutes)

Write the following equation on the board:

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 16 ÷ 4 = ?

Ask the students to use their donut manipulatives to solve the equation.
Continue with the following equations:

12 ÷ 3 = ?
10 ÷ 2 = ?

Students should write their equations, with the answer, on a note card, which can be used as a formative
assessment exit slip.
EL

Beginning

Allow students to share their answers orally in a small group.

Intermediate

Provide a word problem with real-world context for the equations.

Review and closing (5 minutes)

Read aloud the first word problem from the worksheet Divide 'Em Up. Have students work with a partner
to complete the problem.
Call on students to share their thinking.
Assign the remainder of the worksheet for homework.
EL

Beginning

Provide vocabulary support for the worksheet by going over each problem before sending it home for
homework. Allow students to point out words on which they need clarification.

Intermediate

Have students restate a peer's explanation and challenge them to add onto the statement. Provide
sentence supports, such as "I agree with ____ because ____. I would also say ____."

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 Donut Division!
Find the quotient.

4 16 2 18 9 27 6 54

8 8 3 21 4 20 8 64

2 10 3 12 6 48 7 28

7 49 8 56 6 24 5 25

3 18 9 63 7 70 11 66

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 Donut Division!
Find the quotient.

4 9 3 9
4 16 2 18 9 27 6 54

1 7 5 8
8 8 3 21 4 20 8 64

5 4 8 4
2 10 3 12 6 48 7 28

7 7 4 5
7 49 8 56 6 24 5 25

6 7 10 6
3 18 9 63 7 70 11 66

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40 ÷ 8 = __ 35
27 ÷ 5
3 = __

44 ÷ 11 = __ 72 ÷ 9 = __

28 ÷ 7 = __

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 Divide ‘Em Up
Solve each division word problem. Show your work!

Ms. Bran brought 4 evenly Pookie’s Pet Store has 24 tropical

divided boxes of muffins to class. fish. They keep 3 fish in each
There are 36 muffins altogether. tank. How many fish tanks are
How many muffins are in each there?
box?

Sally divided her 48 spools of Ivan scooped 16 scoops of ice

thread evenly into 6 boxes. How cream evenly onto 8 cones. How
many spools of thread did she put many scoops of ice cream are on
in each box? each cone?

Chris has 28 cactus plants. He There are 50 toes in the swimming

keeps his cactus plants in even pool. Each person has 10 toes.
rows of 7. How many cactus How many people are in the
plants are in each row? pool?

Find worksheets, games, lessons & more at education.com/resources

Created by :
© 2007 - 2019 Education.com
Copyright 2008-2009 Education.com www.education.com/worksheets