It is important for 6th graders to know how to solve word problems - and many real-life situations involve dividing decimals. These problems will push students’ problem solving skills. They will need to identify which operation makes most sense. Then, they’ll apply the operation and check if the answer makes sense.
Making sense of the situation is the most important skill in solving word problems. Have students draw the situation or write the important information. Use this to help them figure out the operation involved.
Some students might choose to do repeated addition or subtraction. Have a conversation about why division is more efficient. Talk about whether they are finding the number of parts or the amount in each part.
The next step is to help students set up the division problem.
Total `\div`Number of parts `=`Amount in each part
When doing decimal division, help students to understand that they should write an equivalent expression where the divisor is a whole number. For example `22 \div 5.5 = 220 \div 55`. Then they can divide as usual.
`6`th grade. You can expect this lesson to take one `45`-minute class period.
