One Way to Guarantee More Rigor with Division Activities
Giving students more rigor in their division math activities is easier than you probably think. First, though let’s define “rigor.” Rigor occurs when students develop a better conceptual understanding of a math concept. When they gain procedural skills and fluency and can apply this new understanding. Rigor is NOT memorizing math facts (although this is a good skill) or doing endless word problems to show mastery. We ask them to tap into their higher thinking and truly understand what they are doing. For me, division activities that include error analysis tap into all three requirements. Want to know more?
How Do You Increase Rigor in Math?
My favorite way to increase rigor is to have students use error analysis to solve a math problem. Using error analysis requires students to determine if the error is procedural or conceptual, which means they are evaluating the situation. Guess what? They have reached the highest level of Bloom’s Taxonomy!
Division Activities
As you move through your division unit, your students need different activities. Some will help them understand the concept of division, like making equal groups.
Some will help them write division equations for those equal groups.
Eventually, you will challenge them with word problems that require them to apply this knowledge to solve problems.
Your students are gaining procedural skills and some conceptual understanding in each of these.
Adding Error Analysis Division Activities
If you want them to truly hit all three aspects of rigor, add error analysis activities. It’s easier than you think!
Let’s look at this first activity for your students.
In this fun hands-on division activity, your students will compare three division examples and decide which two are true and which one is a lie.
Remember, Bloom’s Taxonomy? They are analyzing and evaluating the situation.
This Division 2 Truths and a Lie Activity will help your 3rd graders improve their procedural skill and fluency with division. But now, we need to increase the rigor even more.
Take It Up a Notch with Division Word Problems & Error Analysis
Let’s add word problems to the activities and see how your students use error analysis with math models and writing to explain. Now, they are using multiple levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy:
- Remember
- Understand
- Apply
- Analyze
- Evaluate
Your students don’t have to do an endless number of word problems to gain the benefits of error analysis. Put these Division Word Problems – Error Analysis in a math center for a week and see your student’s conceptual knowledge of division grow by leaps and bounds! It’s the writing that does it!
Using error analysis guarantees that your division activities will have more rigor! Ready to give your 3rd grade students the rigorous activities they deserve without spending your valuable time doing it?
Grab these rigorous division activities and start using them in your classroom right away!
Need division help and resources for your struggling math students? In this post, I share the ways I help my students learn division when they are just not getting it – Teaching Division in 3rd Grade – Small Group Instruction.
Pin this to your math Pinterest Board, so you can come back and review this strategy again!
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