Division and decimals? Talk about a doozy of a standard in 5th and 6th grade! It should come as no surprise that students struggle with division and that sadly stems back to multiplication struggles and even subtracting with regrouping. But division with decimals problems doesn’t have to last forever!
Today I’m sharing 3 division with decimals problems to avoid in your 5th and 6th-grade classroom. Let’s dive in!
Division with Decimals Problems
While it’s impossible to round up every single problem when it comes to a topic, I tried to find the most common and easily fixed division with decimals problems in my classroom. Have other problems that you see in your classroom? Drop your ideas in the comments!
#1 Teaching too Fast
This is probably my biggest struggle with teaching any 5th grade math lesson and that’s trying to teach too fast. I know that time is of the essence and I know that that test time crunch is real. But slow down your teaching, especially when tackling division with decimals problems.
We all want our students to grasp the concept of division. And pacing guides can leave much to be desired when it comes to tough topics. But rushing through to teach something isn’t going to help anybody. It will just make you and your students feel stressed and we don’t want that!
Spend time a little each day to really gain understanding. Slow down and dive deep. What does division mean? What does it mean when it comes to splitting up decimals?
#2 Skipping Practice Time
Similar to teaching too fast, be sure to give students time to practice division with decimals problems. There are tons of ways to give students practice in class, some ways are more fun than others. Sure you could give some 5th grade math decimals worksheets but you could also try some games on decimals too. Especially with a challenging topic like operations on decimal numbers, be sure to include some fun ideas!
I love using math stations in my classroom as this gives students the chance to work with a partner, move around and change up their learning. Math stations give me the ability to work with small groups and jazz up a boring concept with games about decimals. I share all about how to start math stations in under a week in my Free 5 Part Video Series on how to take your math block from frustrating to fun! Drop your email below to sign up for the FREE Video Series!
decimal operation games
Word problems, meet math game. This game helps students solve math word problems by giving answer choices on the game board. There are 3 different levels of boards for easy differentiation and very little prep work is needed. Slice 2 pages of cards and print the boards. That’s it! The decimal operation games set linked below has a mix of adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimals so that students have to understand when to use each operation.
games about decimals: Double Dice
This dice games for kids pack is perfect for any operation of decimal numbers and especially division. Students roll dice to create a problem and solve it. The person with the greater answer wins the round! I love how low prep this game is, just print, slip into a page protector and pull out some dry-erase markers. Easy-peasy. Best part? You can leave it out for a few weeks because students are creating new problems each time!
games on decimals: 4 in a Row
Love connect four? This game is similar but with a self-checking aspect so that students can know they are getting the right answer! Pair up students and give each a game board. Partner A solves and then checks with Partner B to see if their answer is correct. Then they place their marker on the board. First one to 4 in a Row wins!
long division with a remainder
This is another 4-in-a-Row style game, but with solving long division with a remainder. These problems are whole numbers but the remainder can be written as a decimal so I thought I’d include them in the lineup. Especially if you want students to practice the basics of long division problems before teaching division with decimals problems.
division with decimals problems
The famous Tic Tac Toe board game is here but this time with the division of decimals. I love using tic tac toe in math and so do my students. Self-checking and simple directions make this game a fast favorite in any grade. I love that the game is self-checking so that students are playing and solving math problems correctly. The simple rules mean that students are focused more on math than on the rules of the game. I have the set with division with decimals problems linked here.
#3 Not Using Word Problems
With a topic like division, word problems can actually help the concept of division with decimals make more sense. In the real world we use dividing decimals any time we talk about money so use that situation and create some division with decimals problems.
I like to teach how to solve math word problems well before I get to dividing with decimals but if this is the first unit of the year then just dive on in! I share more about math word problems in this blog post if you want to check it out!
Another way to tackle word problems is to use projects. I created some shopping adventure decimal projects to keep my students engaged in our operations on decimal number units. Inside each project, students use adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing decimals to shop within their budget. I love that I can assign virtually or in person and let students shop the ads! While it is especially fun around the holidays, it can be used year-round! A great end-of-the-school-year activity for middle school! Click here to get more information.
More Ideas for Division with Decimals Problems
Looking for more options on how to avoid division with decimals problems? These videos and blog posts help you navigate the decimal struggles with ease and fun!
- Divide a decimal by decimal video
- How to Teach Dividing Decimals
- Long Division: Strategies and Extensions for Upper Elementary Math
- 2 Strategies for Dividing Decimals
- Simple Ways to Teach Dividing Decimals
What are your biggest division with decimals problems? Drop them in the comments!
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