Division facts may seem daunting for many students. It is one of the many things in Math that they will need to master in order for them to thrive. But don’t worry, learning division facts can be enjoyable. There are alternative ways to teach and practice division facts while still keeping your students engaged and motivated.
Here are some enjoyable and engaging strategies and activities that you can try out in your classroom.
- Build conceptual understanding
- Play division fact games
- Integrate Technology
Build Conceptual Understanding of Division
It is important that students develop a conceptual understanding of how division works. Simply asking them to memorize the facts won’t help them in the long run.
With my students, I find that connecting division to real-life scenarios really helps a lot. It answers the most common question in the classroom, “Why do we need to learn this?” Giving them examples of how and when they use division in their lives will increase their engagement.
Another thing I like to use with my students is to use manipulatives to help them visualize division. Counters and cubes are great for these!
Play Division Facts Games
Who doesn’t like playing games? Not only does it increase engagement, but it also helps students to be more familiar with their division facts too!
Division Bingo
One of the favorite games in our classroom is Division Bingo! Best part about it is it can be played as a whole group or you can use it as a center.
Here’s how.
- Whole group – Call out division questions and have students find the product. Let them mark the bingo cards once they know the quotient. You can play so that they make a certain pattern on their bingo cards or you can play block out!
- Center – Give your students one bingo card each and a pair of dice. Have them roll the dice and divide the two numbers that come up. Have them mark the bingo cards when they find the quotient. Tip: You can place the bingo cards inside a dry-erase so you can reuse them.
Division Scoot!
Another classroom classic is Scoot! It’s a great way to keep your students up and engaged. It’s easy to prep too! (Tip: This can be used for other topics too!)
- Prep
- Grab a pack of division flash cards. Make sure to assign letters or numbers to each card.
- Arrange desks or stations in the classroom. Place one card on each desk or station.
- Provide each student with a template where they write their answers. These should match the letters or numbers assigned to each card.
2. Instructions
Explain to students the rules of the game. Let them know that they are to answer one division question within a given time frame. (30 seconds to 1 minute will do) Tell them that they need to move from one station to another once the time is up and you say, “Scoot!”
3. Game Play
- Start a timer.
- Students will read and answer the problem on the station assigned to them.
- Once the time is up, students will move from one station to the next.
- Continue until students answered all of the questions.
4. Review
- After the game, go through the division problems as a class.
- Encourage them to ask any questions that they may have.
Integrate Technology
Using technology is one of the best ways to engage students. It saves you tons of paper too! Learning division facts will seem like a game when using technology.
Here are just some of my favorite websites, apps, and games to use in my classroom.
- Prodigy – Register to play a game of prodigy. It is an action-adventure type of game that asks students math questions in order to make a move. Best part is, you can align your lessons to the game!
- Boom Cards – These are online digital task cards made by teachers like you! I love that they are self-checking and very engaging for students.
- Google Slides – You can make your own or you can check out my resources. I love using these specially when students are starting out with multiplication. With Google Slides, they can drag and drop pieces and interact with the slides too!
Here’s a sample of a Google Slide Activity that your students can do in order to practice more division facts.
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These are just some of the activities that can encourage your students to practice more division facts. Try them out! They might just be the activity that you’re looking for! (If you’re looking for ways to practice multiplication, head over here.)
Are you looking for other division facts activities? Here are more!
