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Math tip sheet

Division strategies for kids

Sharing, grouping, thinking in times tables, jumping back, remainders and the four steps of long division.

Free, no sign-upPrints on one pageAges 8 to 10

How division works

Ages 8 to 10

  1. 1Share it out

    Share the things one by one until they are gone. How many on each plate?

    12 ÷ 3 = 4

  2. 2Make groups

    How many groups of 4 can you make from 12? Circle them and count the groups.

    12 ÷ 4 = 3

  3. 3Think times tables

    Division is multiplication backwards: 6 times what makes 24?

    24 ÷ 6 = 4, because 6 × 4 = 24

  4. 4Jump back

    Take away the same number again and again until you reach 0. Count the jumps.

    15 ÷ 5 = 3 jumps

  5. 5Remainders

    Make as many full groups as you can. What is left over is the remainder.

    14 ÷ 4 = 3 r 2

  6. 6Long division

    Repeat 4 steps for each digit: divide, multiply, subtract, bring down the next digit.

    84 ÷ 3 = 28

💡 Memory tip: Check a division with a multiplication: 28 × 3 = 84, so 84 ÷ 3 = 28 is right.

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Practise it

Division worksheetsLong division worksheets4th grade math worksheets

Print the sheet for the fridge or the homework folder, and look at one idea a day. Kids learn a strategy best when they say it out loud while they use it: "8 and 2 make 10, and 3 more is 13."

More tip sheets

Number bonds to 10The pairs that make 10, shown with a rainbow, a ten-frame, fingers and part-whole circles.Addition strategiesSix ways to add without counting every dot.Subtraction strategiesSix ways to take away.How multiplication worksWhat times means, shown with equal groups, arrays, skip counting, turn-arounds, doubling and breaking a fact apart.Times table tricksA trick for every times table from 0 to 12, including the 9s on your fingers.Printable multiplication chartA colorful times table chart from 1 to 10 (1 to 100), 1 to 12 or 1 to 20.

Questions parents and teachers ask

How do you explain division to a child?

Share real things: 12 cookies on 3 plates, one at a time. Then group them: how many bags of 4 can we fill? Both are division. Once times tables are known, "think multiplication" is the fastest way.

What does DMSB mean in long division?

DMSB stands for the steps Divide, Multiply, Subtract, Bring down, repeated for each digit. Kids remember the order with "Does McDonald’s Sell Burgers?" or "Dad, Mom, Sister, Brother".

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