When you spend weeks and weeks of the school year planning small groups, you can feel like you’re going crazy. You lose track of which activities you’ve already done and all your lessons start to run together. It may be time to break up the routine and add in work mats. And what better skill to use them with than division for 5th graders? These division work mats are amazing when you want something quick but effective.
What are small group work mats?
Work mats are essentially worksheets layed out in a specific way to scaffold students through the material. Instead of just a list of problems, like a traditional worksheet, students are led through four stages: review problem, partner work, independent work, and assessment problem.
These work mats are great for after you have taught a lesson, whether it be a brand-new skill or a review. Work mats are not intended for whole group practice. Instead, they work best in small groups. They help you maximize your small group time and give you a clear idea of students’ mastery.
In small group settings, I find work mats to be very helpful when teaching division to 5th graders. I usually introduce the concept by having the students work with partners.
Each student is given a work mat and a set of manipulatives (e.g. counters, links, etc.).
I start by modeling how to divide using the work mat and manipulatives, and then the students take turns doing it themselves with their partner.
This helps them to visualize the division process and better understand how division works.
Work Mats and Division for 5th Graders
So, where do work mats and divisions for 5th graders tie together? Well, as I mentioned, work mats are great for scaffolding. If you’ve ever taught 5th grade math before, you know that whole number division is a tricky topic that takes lots of practice and time to build.
Essentially, these work mats help make a tough skill just a bit simpler. Here’s what a small group lesson on place values might look like:
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When you are working with students in a small group, the first problem – or anchor problem – will be used as a review. You will talk about the problem aloud and get students involved. Next, pair off the students in your group and have them work on the buddy problem. Assist when needed and observe.
Next, have students work on a problem independently. If you notice a student struggling, work with them 1:1. Lastly, have your students complete an “exit ticket” or assessment problem. For this one, let them know that you want to test their skills, so you won’t be helping. Use this problem to gauge students’ level of understanding.
Done-For-You Division Work Mats
Let’s be real – sometimes you don’t have the time (or motivation) to create all of these must-have classroom resources. I totally get it. That’s why I made them for you!
These work mats were made specifically to teach division for 5th graders. They include work mats for –
- Place Value & Patterns
- Relate Multiplication to Division
- Use the Distributive Property
- Divide by 1-digit divisors
- Model Division with 2-digit divisors
- Estimate with 2-digit divisors
- Partial Quotients
- Divide by 2-digit divisors
- Interpret the remainder
These work mats will make your division small group lessons a no-brainer. For each lesson, it includes a work mat (with a review section, buddy practice, independent practice, and “exit ticket”) and lesson notes.
These lesson notes are a game-changer because they include instructions for working with remediate, on-level, and above level students. With this resource, your students will walk about from their division small group with more mastery and knowledge – and confidence! If you are searching for the Guided Math blog post about division- you can read about it here!
