PRIMARY IDEAS OF DIVISION
In teaching the two ideas of division—division by measurement (division proper) and the fractional idea of division (partition)—proceed very slowly and see that each step is thoroughly understood.
The following suggestions may be useful:—
Division by Measurement
Use blocks or any other counters in illustrating the process.
Example:
4 12
The teacher should ask the child, “How would you count this story?”
Facts Given by Child
12 = whole number of blocks.
4 = number in each part.
We want to know the number of parts.
We place the blocks so, 4 in each part:—
There are 3 parts.
Division by Partition
Make use of blocks or substitutes to show the process here.
Example: 1⁄4 of 12 = 3.
The teacher should ask the child, “How would you count this story?”
Facts Given by Child
12 = whole number of blocks.
4 = number of parts.
We want to know the number in each part.
We place the blocks so, as we know there are 4 parts:—
We have put one in each part.
Now we will put one in each part until the 12 blocks are gone:—
There are 3 in each part.