Long Division….. The thought makes some people cringe in horror or shiver with remembering all of those hours practicing over and over that same method.
In 5th grade, our job is to bridge that gap between concrete understanding in elementary school to the abstract understanding required in junior high. Traditional algorithms are taught while also still allowing students to choose their method to solve real world problems. One of the ways I like to practice, is by using task cards.
I have 84 minutes to teach math each day (which is super exciting coming from 45 before) and my students work in a math workshop setting. Whole group usually lasts about 20 min while students use the rest of the time to rotate through stations. Since I am teaching a small group in the back of the room, I need stations that are set up to run independently which is why I created these task cards.
These task cards are cut out and printed on card stock. I then laminate them so I can use them for multiple classes and groups. The students use notebook paper to work out each problem and check their answers. Students use an iPad to quickly scan the QR code, and it takes them to a photo image which contains the problem worked out on white boards along with the correct answer. They can then check their answer and if they did something wrong, they can see exactly where they messed up.
I am in the process of designing additional cards to be used for different areas including multiplication and decimals.
This is an example of one of my long division cards. 1/2 of the cards have no remainders, while the other 1/2 of the cards have remainders in which the students have to figure out how to interpret based on the real world scenario that is provided. Currently, I have cards with 1 and 2 digit divisors, decimal division, multiplication and expressions
If you would like to check out these task cards, I have a free sample version (contains 8 cards) on my teachers pay teachers website – click here .
The full version of the 1 digit divisor (containing 24 cards) is also on my site that is listed here . and the full version of the 2 digit divisor (containing 24 cards) is listed here. I would love to hear what you think if you try these out in your classroom or home school. They are designed for 4th/5th grade but can be used at other grades to enrich or for remediation.
Full version with 24 task cards!
Task card printed in black and white, laminated on color paper.
If color copies are an issue (we don’t have a color copier at our school,) then you can print the cards out and glue them onto colored paper. Not nearly as pretty as colored but are effective none the less.
For Parents,Teachers, Scout Leaders & Really Just Everyone! 