Playing With Remainders

This activity will teach students how to deal with remainders in real life by either rounding, splitting them evenly, or simply ignoring them. This activity has three plays that illustrate for students how to interpret remainders in division and how to apply the remainder to a real world problem solving.

Weblink address (URL):

Lesson Variations

Blooms taxonomy level:

Understanding

Extension suggestions:

Extensions:

After reading or acting out these plays, children could write their own stories or plays where the characters must interpret remainders correctly in real-life situations.
Children new to the United States could be encouraged to set new plays in their homeland countries with names, food, and problem-solving situations common to their life experiences.

Family Connections:

Assign students to create two to five word problems at home using members of their families and either real or made up situations that require the correct use of remainders.
Which use of a remainder is most common? Give students a few days to collect data at home about which scenario is most common—dropping, rounding or sharing. They might be allowed situations on TV in addition to real-life occurrences. After collecting data, a bar graph could be constructed comparing the three types of remainders’ frequency.

Helpful Hints

Materials:

Invitation to Learn
12 manipulatives
Math journals

Instructional Procedures:

Math journals
Round-up! (pdf)
You Just Drop It! (pdf)
Sharing is Very Important! (pdf)
Playing with Remainders (pdf)
Remainder Stories (pdf)
Paper
Scissors
Tape
Markers

Books:

Teaching with the Brain in Mind, by Eric Jensen; ISBN 1-4166-0030-2

References

Contributors:

Paula Cox

Originator:

Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation