long division

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Home : 2002 : February : 4

long division
By kat

This is so hard, but once they get it the expressions on their faces is worth every painful hour you've spent working on it. I too was feeling overwhelmed with this, but just kept doing it over and over again. Finally they
got it and I give them a few problems every day to keep practicing. It's a great settling activity as we switch classes.
The one thing I did that really helped was I put the letters DMSCB on the board with the phrase "does McDonalds Serve Cheese Burgers", so they would remember it. I explained what each letter stood for and MADE them write it on every paper with long division.

It really helped too to have them use this and go back and find where they got lost. Oh! This is what the letters stood for:
D--Divide, M--multiply, S--subtract, C--compare(is answer after subtraction smaller than the dividend?) B--bring down the next digit. Repeat steps until all numbers have been brought down. By having them check for the mistakes it reinforced the order of the steps and soon the trips to my desk or the hands going up ceased! Keep working hard, they will get it!