options: Counting & Cardinality: students learn to know number names and the count sequence, count to tell the number of objects, and compare numbers.

Operations & Algebra: students learn to solve problems using algebraic thinking and operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. They may learn to identify and explain arithmetic patterns, evaluate or manipulate numerical expressions, and reason with equations and inequalities.

Geometry: students learn to classify geometric figures by their properties, and understand and compare the relationships between them. Students develop and use formulas to compute lengths, areas, and volumes, and they use transformations to generate new shapes and compare existing ones. Geometry can be studied with and without coordinates.

Ratios & Proportional Relationships: students learn to recognize, describe, represent, and reason with ratios, rates, proportional relationships, and percent.

Number Systems and Quantity: students learn to understand the complex number system and reason quantitatively.

Functions: students learn to define, use, and evaluate functions to model relationships between quantities.

Modeling: students learn to choose and use appropriate mathematics and statistics to analyze real-world empirical situations, improve decisions, and report on their conclusions and the reasoning behind them.

Number & Operations in Base Ten: students learn to work with the base-ten system and build place value understanding.

Measurement & Data: students learn to work with data and measure attributes such as time, money, length, area, and volume. They may learn to compare measurements to operations and convert between different units of measure.

Number & Operations - Fractions: students learn to understand fractions as numbers and may work with them using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Statistics & Probability: students learn to analyze and produce data distributions, and build understanding of univariate and bivariate data. They learn to interpret data, make statistical inferences, justify conclusions, understand rules of probability, and use probability to make decisions.
problem_activity: Narrative
The purpose of this activity is for students to understand that the same division expression can be used to represent both types of division situations. Students are given two situations and asked to match a division expression to one of the situations, but the expression matches both situations given. It is okay if students do not recognize that the expression matches both situations in the activity, because it will be discussed in the activity synthesis. Students learn that the number we are dividing by is called the
divisor
and understand that the divisor can represent the size of the groups or the number of groups. When students explain that a divisor can be interpreted differently based on the situation it represents, they reason abstractly and quantitatively (MP2).
MLR2 Collect and Display.
Circulate and collect the language students use as they consider the two situations. Listen for and clarify any questions about the context. On a visible display, record words and phrases such as: put in groups, split, divide, number of groups, etc. During the synthesis, add “divisor” to the display and highlight connections to any related language.
Advances: Conversing, Reading
Launch
Groups of 2
“Let’s look a bit closer at division expressions. Take a minute to read these two situations.”
1 minute: quiet think time
Activity
“Work with your partner to decide which situation the expression represents.”
2–3 minutes: partner work time
Student Facing
Consider these two situations.
A. Han has 21 toy cars. He puts the same number of cars in each of 3 boxes. How many cars will be in each box?
B. Han has 21 toy cars. He wants to put 3 cars in each box. How many boxes will he need?
Which situation does the expression
\(21 \div 3\)
represent? Explain your reasoning.
[IMG]
Student Response
Teachers with a valid work email address can
click here to register or sign in
for free access to Student Response.
Activity Synthesis
Invite students to share their responses and reasoning.
“How can the same expression represent two different situations?” (Both situations involve the same numbers, 21 and 3. Both situations involve putting 21 objects into equal groups. In one case, the 3 is the number of objects in the group, but in the other, it is the number of groups. Both situations are talking about 21 divided by 3, just in different ways.)
“We noticed that the number that we are dividing by, 3, can have two different meanings. It can mean 3 groups or 3 objects in each group.”
“When we divide, the number we divide by is called the
divisor
. In the expression
\(27 \div 3\)
, the divisor is 3.”


correct_option_index: 1