Summarize:

It’s easier for students to understand division if they can imagine a set of items being divided equally amongst a group. While 10/5 might seem confusing, giving out 10 cookies to 5 friends makes it seem simple!  If you’re teaching your own child, you can introduce division by having them help you divide items into goody bags or separate baked goods into sandwich bags to hand out to friends. In a classroom setting, students can work in groups to divide a number of items, such as candies or plastic bears, evenly among themselves. Most students begin to learn division in the 3rd grade or around the age of 8 or 9. Ask them to divide the same larger number into smaller groups of various sizes. You can use manipulatives, pictures of the items, or a worksheet. This helps them get a better grasp about how basic division works.  Manipulatives are any small item that represents the numerical amounts in math problems, such as beans or plastic coins. Your student can physically see and touch the items, which helps them better understand the mathematical concepts. For example, give them 24 beans, then ask them to separate the beans into 2 groups, 3 groups, 4 groups, 6 groups, 8 groups, and finally 12 groups. Explain to them that this is the same as dividing the number 24 by each of these numbers. This seems simple, but it’s an easy step to overlook. Before your student can start working through problems on paper, they need to know the symbols they’ll use. For example, 10 divided by 5 can be written like this: 10/5 or 10÷5. Show them every way that the problem can be written. They already understand multiplication, so this is a good scaffolding to build on. Show them how the times table can be worked backwards using division. For example, go through the 5 times tables, starting at 5 x 10 = 50. Show your student that 50/10 = 5. Then go to 5 x 9 = 45, and explain that 45/9 = 5. Continue until you complete the times table. Provide your student with simple math problems consisting of numbers that divide evenly. Remind your student that division effectively creates smaller groups out of a larger sum.  You can work backwards from multiplication tables. For example, when dividing by 3, the math problems would include 3/3, 6/3, 9/3, 12/3, 15/3, etc. At this point, make sure the numbers divide evenly. You can download free worksheets for your student to use for practice by searching online for "division worksheets." Choose worksheets for beginners.  You can also create your own worksheets. For beginners, focus on numerical problems. However, they may benefit from illustrations or context. For example, you might make a worksheet about dividing pizza for a party. The context is that the student must divide certain numbers of pizza slices per varying numbers of guests, but the math problems will contain just numbers, such as 12/3, 12/4, 24/8, etc.
Present division as a way to share. Show your student how to divide items into smaller, equal groups. Teach your student the symbols used for division problems. Explain that division is the opposite of multiplication. Begin dividing by numbers, starting with 1 and working up to 10.