Unit Plan 17 (Grade 4 Math): Division Fluency & Interpreting Remainders
Refine division strategies using partial quotients and area/array models, estimate to check quotients, and interpret remainders based on context to ensure clear, reasonable solutions.
Focus: Refine division strategies and decide how to interpret remainders in varied contexts.
Grade Level: 4
Subject Area: Mathematics (Operations & Algebraic Thinking; Number & Operations in Base Ten)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Students strengthen whole-number division with flexible strategies (area/array models, partial quotients, place-value reasoning) and learn to interpret remainders based on the situation (drop, round up, share as a fraction/decimal, or keep as a remainder).
Essential Questions
- How do models help me choose and explain an efficient division strategy?
- What should I do with the remainder in different real-world problems?
- How do estimation and units help me check if my answer makes sense?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Use partial quotients, area/array models, and place-value strategies to divide up to four-digit by one-digit numbers.
- Estimate quotients to plan and check a division strategy.
- Decide how to interpret remainders (ignore, round up, write as a fraction/decimal, or report the remainder) based on context and units.
- Write and solve multi-step word problems that include division and explain choices with precise language.
- Communicate solutions with labeled equations, clear models, and a reasonableness check.
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 4
- 4.NBT.6: Find whole-number quotients and remainders with up to four-digit dividends and one-digit divisors, using place-value, the properties of operations, and/or the relationship between multiplication and division; illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.
- Connection: 4.OA.3 (solve multi-step word problems using the four operations; represent with equations; assess reasonableness using mental computation and estimation, including rounding).
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can choose a strategy (partial quotients, area/array, place value) and explain why it fits the problem.
- I can decide what to do with the remainder and justify it using the units and context.
- I can show my work with a labeled model and equation, then estimate to check reasonableness.