My class has been working on multiplication and division for several weeks now. At times this has been a very painful standard. Multiplication and division are major works of the fourth grade Common Core Standards. Although students were exposed to basic multiplication facts in the third grade most of them do not come to 4th grade with mastery of basic facts. My grade level is working on an incentive program to help the students master the basic facts before we begin our fraction unit.
Each week students will be provided an opportunity to pass a test on their basic facts. We are working on facts in a specific order starting with those that are doubles. Last week we tested them on 2's and 4's. Those who passed with at least 90% accuracy will get their name placed below the bowl at the far left of the bulletin board. Those who didn't pass will attempt the 2's and 4's again on Friday as we work on 3' and 6's in class. The goal is that all students will master their facts by the end of the nine weeks. Here is a picture of our bulletin board.
As you can see from the picture we are working on a sundae party. Students have the opportunity to earn various parts of an ice cream sundae each week as they master the facts. The goal is that everyone will get two scoops of ice cream and sprinkles by the end of the nine weeks.
We have also been working on division. Unlike when I was a 4th grade student, students are required to master multiple strategies for what once was called long division. My favorite strategy is to teach students the partial quotient method. This strategy actually requires more higher level thinking as students really must understand place value in order to be successful.
I had such a great lesson with one of my students last week involving this strategy. This student is not on grade level in math and basic operations are often difficult for the student. I pulled this student to a small group and we worked on two digit by one digit division using the partial quotient method. I brought out a hundreds chart to assist the student in writing down the multiples needed for the division problem. This student also is allowed to use a multiplication chart to assist with the basic facts. Students are required to write the needed multiplies along the side of the paper before beginning the actual division. I was so happy and proud that we were able to complete several division problems with the additional supports I put in place. Here is a copy of our completed sheet.
Have you tried the partial quotient method in your classroom? Leave a comment and let me know if you had success with this strategy.
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