If you’re wondering how to teach division in a way that keeps students motivated and engaged, you’re in the right place! Teaching division with movement-based strategies makes learning fun and effective for students. In this blog, we’ll explore dynamic division strategies from Math & Movement, including active division math games and hands-on division activities that bring the numbers to life. These division strategies will transform your lessons into memorable, enjoyable experiences rather than challenging or tedious chores!
Like multiplication, visual and auditory methods alone may not be enough for teaching division.
Imagine yourself as a student again. You just got the hang of multiplication… and now there’s another operation you must learn! And it’s just as complicated as multiplication!
Kinesthetic teaching strategies, or movement-based teaching strategies, use physical activity to teach students new concepts. Kinesthetic, hands-on division activities allow students to achieve understanding through movement and touch.
Students who prefer to learn through kinesthetic methods love to be active participants rather than observers while learning. These students do not learn best by watching and listening to a teacher explain how division works.
Instead, they would understand better by arranging objects into groups or stepping on a life-sized number line. (We’ll show you how that’s possible!)
Physical activity increases oxygen levels in the blood and blood flow to the brain. As a result, the brain receives more oxygen and can function at optimal levels for learning.
Additionally, during exercise, the brain produces a protein called BDNF, which improves the function of neurons and promotes their growth. So, when the body is moving, the brain is ready to develop new information pathways.
Furthermore, exercise promotes the growth of the hippocampus – a portion of the brain responsible for memory and learning.
When a person is physically active, their brain is ready to comprehend and retain new information. This is why movement should be a part of your division strategies!
Kinesthetic learners likely make up a large portion of your classroom. As reported by the National Math Foundation, in 1978, a study by Dunn and Dunn found that 30-40% of school-age children are kinesthetic learners. Comparatively, a 2006 study by Muneera Spence revealed that kinesthetic learners may account for as much as 45% of the population.
Since many people prefer kinesthetic learning methods, you may be wondering how to teach division to students using hands-on activities. We have a solution!
Math and Movement is an evidence-based program designed to get students active and confident in learning. We use a multi-sensory approach to learning that combines visual, auditory, and kinesthetic elements to engage all types of learners in math and literacy.
Considering the science supporting movement-based learning, we create kinesthetic educational products, including heavy-duty floor mats and stickers, that students can move on during lessons.
We also provide various resources for implementing kinesthetic learning strategies, including movement ideas, activities to go with our materials, and professional development opportunities.
Our materials and resources are designed to supplement your school’s existing curriculum. Select a mat for the day’s lesson, and your students can learn by walking, jumping, tracing, and crawling on our materials.
Our program works to enhance students’ understanding of multiplication and division with interactive materials, hands-on activities, and fun math games.
The Math and Movement program has fantastic resources for teaching division to elementary students. We have everything you need for the best hands-on division activities, from active math movements to floor mats to workbooks.
Teachers can incorporate active math movements into the school day when teaching division and multiplication. Active math movements are Math & Movement’s short exercises that allow students to practice skip counting while moving.
Best of all, these exercises do not require any materials. All you need is your students’ bodies, energy, and imaginations! These exercises are designed for students to do while sitting at their desks, standing between lessons, or traveling in the hallway.
Multiplication is the foundation for understanding division, and skip counting is the foundation for understanding multiplication. Active math movements are a great starting point for these crucial concepts. Plus, they’re engaging and fun for students!
Math & Movement’s Skip Counting Mats teach skip counting and multiplication to students kinesthetically. (They can also be used for teaching division. We’ll get there next!)
These mats are life-sized number lines that have large blocks for each multiple of the main factor. Each block contains the numeral, number word, and group of symbols representing the corresponding quantity.
We have a blog explaining how to teach multiplication with our mats and strategies. Check out that article if your students need more practice!
Enhance your multiplication strategies with movement. Here’s how to teach multiplication in a fun, effective way.
Once students are fluent in skip counting patterns and multiplication facts, they can use our Skip Counting mats to solve division problems. We’ll solve 18÷6 using the Skip Counting by 6s Mat as an example.
To begin with the problem, the student stands on the first number of the problem. Then, the student jumps back to zero, only landing on multiples of 6. The number of jumps it takes to reach zero is the answer.
For our example problem, the student starts on 18. They jump down the mat, landing on 12, then 6, and finally zero. This is three jumps. So 18 divided by 6 is 3!
Next, students can drill and practice division problems repeatedly until they memorize the quotients. The Skip Counting mats can be used alongside worksheets, adding to the division math game. Students can read a division problem, jump on the mat to solve it, and then record their answers.
For this purpose, we’re sharing some of our worksheets and workbook resources below!
In addition to our movements and mats, Math and Movement has many other resources that are easily accessible. These tools will help tremendously with teaching division!
This workbook is perfect to fuse alongside the Skip Counting mats. It includes over 200 pages of practice problems. Students are introduced to one multiple at a time, starting with 0s and finishing with 12s. In summary, the pages include challenge problems, application problems, review problems, mixed division problems, and pre- and post-tests.
A unique feature of this book is the inclusion of positive affirmations on each page. Additionally, students can document their mastery of each multiple by placing stickers in the Personal Progress Report spaces.
This series of workbooks teaches multiplication and division strategies for solving problems that students encounter in their daily lives. Book A covers multiples 2 through 6, while Book B covers multiples 7 through 12.
Each multiple’s section includes practice pages for the following concepts:
This workbook helps reinforce multiplication and ease into more division. Students can track their progress at the start and end of each section by taking the included pre- and post-tests.
Similarly to Jump & Learn Division, these books also include positive affirmations and stickers for documenting personal progress.
Many division strategies include relating the operation to multiplication.
It helps to show students that division is the opposite of multiplication. For instance, 24÷6 is a way of asking, “What number times 6 equals 24?”
Multiplication is adding equal groups. Division is taking away equal groups. Instead of hopping up the Skip Counting mats to solve problems, students hop down the mats to solve problems.
In multiplication, the biggest number is always the answer. To solve multiplication problems on the Skip Counting mats, students start on zero to find the answer.
Conversely, in division, the biggest number is always the one being divided. In other words, the biggest number always comes before the division sign.
To solve division problems on the Skip Counting mats, students start on the biggest number to find the answer. The answer is always a smaller number.
Understanding the correlation between multiplication and division can significantly help your students’ mathematical progression!
Kinesthetic learners thrive with tactile strategies, including manipulating objects during division math games. With division, sometimes it’s easiest for students to visualize the divided groups by moving small objects like blocks, popsicle sticks, or paper clips.
Students can do this on the Skip Counting mats as well! Encourage students to represent the dividend by counting and lining up small objects on the corresponding block.
For example, on the Skip Counting by 6s mat, line up 18 paper clips on the 18 block. Then, students can separate their objects to illustrate the act of dividing.
Have them place six paper clips on each block with a multiple of 6. How many different groups of 6 did they make? That’s the answer to 18÷6!
Many Math and Movement activities help educators gamify math. Adding a little competition with a division game helps students stay excited and engaged. That said, we’re sharing one of our favorite division games.
Students can work individually or in small teams to play Mystery Number. Before playing, write out several equations with a missing quantity. For example, if you are using the Skip Counting by 6s mat, your notecards could look like:
Give a student or team a notecard with a missing quantity to find. They can jump on the mat to solve the problem. If they answer correctly, they receive a point. Keep track on the whiteboard.
Then, the next student or team gets a notecard and a chance to earn a point. Play a chosen number of rounds. Whoever has the most points at the end wins!
Now that you know how movement and our products work, here are some of our kits featuring kinesthetic educational products suitable for teaching division.
The 3-5 Math Kit includes materials for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders to help them learn more advanced math concepts. This kit is available as a set of floor mats or floor stickers. The materials provide an engaging way to teach students multiplication, division, fractions, algebra, and more.
Our Classroom Kits are tailored to meet the individual needs of grades K-5. The materials create opportunities for kinesthetic learning in foundational math lessons. Each kit is versatile and designed to meet state standards.
Next, our Multiplication Package is a kit specifically compiled to provide fun and active ways to teach multiplication. It includes six of our skip counting floor mats, digital banners, e-books, and activities.Â
With these things in mind, teachers no longer have to wonder how to teach division. Using movement and kinesthetic games is one of the best ways for your students to learn! Active hands-on division activities will create a lively and engaging environment. Plus, you’ll be promoting better understanding and more fun in the classroom. Watch your students progress faster than before as you teach division through movement!
Children typically start learning division in third grade at age nine. However, the exact timing depends on the child’s readiness and prior math skills. Division requires a thorough understanding of subtraction, skip counting, and multiplication.
Students can learn division four to five times faster with movement-based strategies. A third-grade class in Sarasota, FL used the Math & Movement program for 10 days. Students made more progress in multiplication during those 10 days than during the entire school year. In fact, there was an average improvement of over 89% among students across all multiples. The same strategies used for multiplication can be used for division!
Students struggle with division for many reasons, including:
Division is essential for students to learn because it is one of the significant mathematical operations. Division has many real-world applications, such as splitting a pizza among friends. It also lays the foundation for more advanced math, like fractions, ratios, percentages, and algebra. Students also develop and reinforce problem-solving skills and number sense while learning division.
The best teaching aids for division are Math & Movement’s Skip Counting Floor Mats. Each mat focuses on a single multiple, helping students reinforce these numbers as they jump along. Students can use these mats to solve division problems while engaging their entire bodies in the learning experience.
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