Use fact families to show that division is the inverse, or undoing of multiplication. By becoming familiar with the multiplication facts, students see the relationship between the numbers in a fact and how it is related to division. For example, after solving the fact 8 x 7 = 56, explain that this also means that 56 is evenly divided by 7 to equal 8. Instruct students to always use the product of the multiplication fact to start the related division fact (See References 2).
Construct grids representing rectangles and squares to model a number that can be evenly divided. Instruct students to determine the number of rows and the number in each row to model a division problem. For example, on a grid paper, outline 45 squares consisting of five rows of nine squares and distribute the grid to each student. Direct students to count the number of rows and the number of squares in each row. Have students write the division problem showing how the 45 squares were place in the rows See References 3).
Model division using counters, chips or even students. Place a divisible number of counters out and direct students to group the total number of counters evenly into groups. Students can decide the number of groups to see if they are evenly divided. For some numbers, like 24, there can be more than one grouping. For other numbers, like 22, there may be only one way to group them. Direct students to construct division sentences based on the outcome of their groups. Students can also be instructed to evenly place 20 students into groups. Specific number of groups can be provided to lead students to all find the same outcome (See References 4).
Relate the operation of division to repeated subtraction. Using the number 28 and a number line or hundreds chart, instruct students to repeatedly subtract 7 from the number until zero is reached. Ask students to determine the number of times that 7 was subtracted from 28. The repeated subtraction problem can then be related to dividing 28 by 7 and getting the answer of 4. Repeated subtraction can also be performed using a calculator with the students keeping track of how many times the number was subtracted (See References 5).