Division: Choose Your Own Numbers

 Students have been working on multidigit multiplication and are practicing division each day to build the relationship between the two operations. In addition to utilizing number strings, students are working together to use various strategies to solve equal share problems.

Students were presented with problems that they could solve "as is" or adjust the numbers by choosing from the other options. When students choose the numbers, this provides the teacher with information too! Are they choosing numbers that are a "good fit"? A challenge?

You can see how the student is creating a model to represent the problem. She did have three pandas and she is trying to distribute the "bamboo" equally to each bear by using tally marks. While she needed some support, the teacher can see her approach and that she is able to approach the problem independently.

This student is using a partial quotient strategy utilizing multiplication. Does his "answer" match his work? What questions could move him forward? What does his 1/3 represent? Where is that 1/3 coming from if you had a difference of zero?  

Here you can see some student strategy use: