A guide to how your child learns division

Transcription

1 This series of leaflets are designed to help parents understand how we teach calculation at our school. Methods of calculating have changed over the years and hopefully this leaflet will help to alleviate any confusion that parents may have about the ways, old and new, that children are taught to calculate. Each leaflet will show the progression through the stages for the areas of calculating; addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Children progress at different speeds and it is important that they are confident and competent in each stage before they move onto the next. It is important to remember that everyone learns in different ways therefore children (and adults) will prefer to use different methods. A guide to how your child learns division By teaching a wide range of calculation strategies, children are given the opportunity to choose one that they understand and feel comfortable with, which ultimately increases their confidence and accuracy. We hope you find this leaflet informative and helpful. Meg Brennand (Maths Coordinator) Useful websites Maths dictionary for kids - An excellent interactive maths dictionary. Maths Zone - A great site with links to games related to all areas of maths. Woodlands Site - A website full of interactive maths games and activities.

2 Glossary Division words: groups of share between divide into divided by remainder halve factor dividend divisor Array: A set of dots/ objects arranged into rows and columns to represent different ways of grouping the same total into equal groups e.g. 6 3 = 2 Introduction Although the main focus of this booklet is on written methods, it is important to remember that being able to calculate mentally is a fundamental part of numeracy and therefore the children practise their mental maths skills daily. You will find lots of great ideas for how you can support your child in practising their mental maths skills at home in the KIRFs (Key Instant Recall Facts) sheets. Every half term your child brings home a KIRFs sheet explaining the mental maths skills that we are working on in class. The KIRFs sheets are also on the school website. The methods shown in this booklet are taught in sequence through the five stages. Children will be encouraged to use methods with which they are secure while new concepts are becoming embedded. Ultimately we want the children to be confident to choose any efficient method that is appropriate for a given task. 6 2 = 3 Repeated subtraction: Children begin to understand division as grouping e.g. How many 3s in 12? 12 3 = 4 Place value: The value of a digit depending on its place in a number. Partitioning: Separating two or three digit numbers into hundreds, tens and units e.g. 385 = Number line: Numbered or blank (empty) to use for calculating. Remainder: Amount left over after dividing a number. E.g = 3 remainder 1 Chunking: Using multiples of the number that we are dividing by (the divisor) to break the calculation down into sizeable chunks that are subtracted from the total. E.g. At the back of the booklet you will find a glossary explaining some of the specific words used. Please do not hesitate to talk to myself or your child s teacher should you have any questions regarding maths and your child. Meg Brennand (Maths Coordinator) Bus stop method:

3 Stage 6 Short division (bus stop) : = 145 Stage 1 Children will begin with practical experiences of sharing into equal groups in play and problem solving activities. Speaking and listening - opportunities to use a range of division vocabulary (groups of, share between, divide into) Sharing out cookies onto plates 12 shared between 3 equals 4 each They will count in 2 s, 5 s and 10 s and learn to share objects equally: 6 sweets shared between 2 people. How many sweets do they each get? Children to practise sharing equally between 2 people. They will be encouraged to share in turn e.g. one for you and one for me. Children will start to understand and draw arrays to represent divisions:

4 Stage 2 Children will begin to understand division as grouping. They will use repeated subtraction using number lines or bead strings. This is when they group a number into equal parts. Dividing 12 into groups of 3 gives 4 groups 12 3 = 4 Children need to be able to decide what to do after division and will be encouraged to make sensible decisions about rounding up or down. E.g is 7 remainder 6, but whether the answer should be rounded up to 8 or rounded down to 7 depends on the context. I have 62p. Sweets are 8p each. How many can I buy? Answer: 7 (the remaining 6p is not enough to buy another sweet) Apples are packed into boxes of 8. There are 62 apples. How many boxes are needed? Answer: 8 (the remaining 6 apples still need to be placed into a box) Stage 5 Children will start to have a secure grasp of the relationship between multiplication and division. They should begin to recall and use facts e.g. 5 x 3 = = 5 3 x 5 = = 3 Children will begin to use the Bus Stop but continuing to use chunking. Children will then start to subtract larger multiples of the divisor and solve calculations involving larger numbers: = 27 Children to begin to use and apply their understanding to find symbols that stand for unknown numbers to complete simple equations: = 32 r 4

5 Pupils will begin to use chunking without remainders: 72 3 = 24 Stage 3 Using repeated subtraction on blank number line: 24 4 = 6 Children need to see that for this method to become efficient they should look for the biggest multiple they can use each time and reduce the number of steps. Leading to calculations involving chunking with remainders: Children will solve calculations involving remainders: 13 4 = 3 r 1 Stage 4 Children will begin to divide by chunking. Sometimes when you divide you have an amount left over. This is called the remainder. r = remainder = 36 r 4 This means they will develop their use of repeated subtraction and be able to subtract multiples of the number they are dividing by (divisor) = 6 They will use their knowledge of multiples to make fewer jumps (in chunks)