Oh, the joy of teaching division! My 4th graders always struggle when learning this concept. I've learned a few tricks over the years that have made the journey a little smoother. I wrote a song to the tune of YMCA. The students really enjoy dancing and singing along to this catchy tune. You can download just the instrumental version of the song from several internet sources for free or cheap. I've made up some movements to accompany the song. We sing it throughout our division unit. To help the steps stick I let the students play Division Relay. I make two teams of students, and each team must race to finish the division problem. A student may only do one step in the division process, and then must pass off the marker to the next student. In addition to this, I also give the students a step by step reference sheet to keep in their folder. Learning and making division fun is Classroom Magic!
Click Here for the Google Docs Version
Click HERE to get it in Google Docs.
Teaching Tip of the Week
If you aren't familiar with the website Pete's Power Point Station, you need to be. It's a great website to get free Power Point presentations. Click HERE for some great division Power Points and other resources.
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This is great! I'm not sure how I can get the song though. Is there a version with someone singing it? My kids don't need to waste one second trying to get the melody as much as they need to get the lyrics and understand them. Great work! jason@jwhit.com
ReplyDeleteJason, if you listen to the original you'll see how closely the two match. The only part that has to be sped up is the main chorus: It’s fun to divide when you D-M-S-B. And you could just shorten it to: It's fun to divide D-M-S-B. You can get a free instrumental and vocal version on 4shared.com. I will try to record a flip video version and add to the post after the break. The sound quality probably won't be very good though.
ReplyDeleteFantastic idea! Thank you so much for posting this! Sometimes my kids struggle to remember the different steps--I think this will help a lot! (They'll just have to sing softly to themselves while doing the problems!)
ReplyDeleteFound your idea through Pinterest, BTW.
Sparklee, I often hear my students quietly singing while they are working on division, and it makes me smile. I try to give lots of strategies because each child learns differently. I always learned through songs but not my daughter. It is always a challenge to find new ways to help her learn. She needs the visuals. She makes me a better teacher for my other students.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I think I follow a few of your Pinterest boards. Happy Pinning:)
I'd love a copy of the documens. My email is kdavis@lee-scott.org
ReplyDeleteThanks!
I'm going to give the lyrics to our music teacher and ask her to work with my students on this song! Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteThat's a GREAT idea! I might do the same thing:)
DeleteSelina
Wk wk wk wk..your pict is very funny
ReplyDelete