This week in Year 6, we have been conquering the elusive long division method. At the beginning of the week, this method was new and we spent time understanding how the method works using 2-digit multiples of 10, concrete & pictoral representations and related facts. With Mr Edwards, we learned how to make it a habit to list the first few key multiplication facts of our divisor. We were then able to use these key multiplication facts to quickly find 20x, 30x, 40x, etc. of the divisor – knowing this helps us find larger chunks, making our method more efficient.
As with all new learning, the way our confidence developed differed between everyone; those of us who were more confident coached our peers. This was a fantastic lesson and by the end, everyone was using the method successfully (see video).
After Wednesday’s learning, we recognised that we needed to improve our efficiency, so Mrs Hopkin showed us how to use the first two digits of the dividend to help us find a relevant key fact and then decide if we needed that fact, 10x or 100x it. By the end of Thursday’s lesson, we were that confident, we were able to fully explain the method in our own words (see picture gallery).
I am so proud that you have all mastered such a complex skill. You should take confidence from this for the rest of the year. A massive well done to all of you who got your work posted on here too. I’m very impressed with your coaching skills in the video too.