Licorice strings (several per group)
Skittles (or other small candies)
Scissors (for cutting licorice)
Worksheet for recording division problems and results.Introduction:
Begin with a brief explanation of division, emphasizing that it is about sharing things equally.
Discuss real-life scenarios where division is used, such as sharing food or toys among friends.
Setting Up the Activity:
Provide each student or group with several licorice strings and a set of Skittles.
Explain that the licorice strings will act as dividers to create sections for sharing Skittles equally.
Preparing the Licorice Strings:
Instruct students to lay out the licorice strings on a flat surface.
Depending on the number of Skittles they have, students can use scissors to cut the licorice strings into equal sections.
Sorting the Skittles:
Have students count the total number of Skittles they have.
Place the Skittles along the licorice strings, dividing them equally into sections created by the strings.
If there are any leftover Skittles that cannot be evenly shared, set them aside.
Recording Results:
Provide a worksheet for students to record the division problems they solve during the activity.
For example, if a student has 30 Skittles and 5 licorice sections, they will write down “30 ÷ 5 = 6” and note that each section gets 6 Skittles.
Discussion and Analysis:
After the sorting, gather the class to discuss their observations.
Ask questions such as: “What happens when there are leftover Skittles? How can we represent division with leftovers?”
Introduce the concept of remainders if students encounter leftovers during their activity.
Extension Activity (Optional):
Challenge students to come up with their own division problems using different numbers of Skittles and licorice sections.
Encourage them to think about different group sizes and how the number of sections affects the outcome.
Conclusion:
Summarize the key points about division as sharing equally.
Emphasize the importance of fair sharing and how division helps us solve everyday problems.
Reinforce the concept by asking students to share examples from their own lives where they use division.