To help students remember the steps, teachers can use a comical phrase, such as "Does MickeyD's Sell Cheese Burgers Raw?" The first letter of each term in this easy-to-remember phrase stands for one of the steps of division: "Does" is Step 1, to divide. "MickeyD's," for Step 2, means to multiply, while "Sell" is Step 3, to subtract. "Cheese," as Step 4, means to compare. Step 5, "Burgers," stands for bring down, while "Raw" is Step 6, for remainder. Teachers can write the sentence on the board for students to refer to while they work. Parents and children at home can illustrate each step on flashcards or poster board.
Students can also learn the steps of division through a song or rap. Made popular by websites such as MrDuey.com and SongsforTeaching.com, the lyrics provide the repetition students need to remember the steps in an entertaining way. Teachers and parents can challenge their students to perform the rap or song in front of the class or family.
To set up a division challenge, teachers put students into groups of six. Each group has a whiteboard and marker, and sits in a row, before competing to be the first to solve a long division problem provided by the teacher. Each student in the group must complete one of the division steps, and winning means not only finishing first, but also having the correct answer. In smaller groups or at home, kids can compete against one another directly.
Using manipulatives -- objects that students hold and move around to help solve a math problem -- keeps students' attention and appeals to kinesthetic, or hands-on, learners. Chocolate chips or other small candies serve as tasty manipulatives in the classroom or at home. The children divide the food items evenly onto paper plates or into containers, and look for remainders. This method works best for beginning or short division problems.