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by Mary Anne Edwards
Topics: Fourth Grade, Math

The mere mention of long division may make your child cringe. But this is still a very important math skill to practice for fourth graders. They need to have lots of repetition and success in order to conquer those problems with speed and confidence! Why not create their own hands-on game to practice with "Magnetic Division!"

What You Need:

  • 1 roll blank magnetic strips (with a white surface on one side)
  • magic markers
  • pencil
  • lined paper
  • scissors
  • 1 large baking sheet (or use side of refrigerator)

What You Do:
Step 1:
Tell your child they will be using magnets to create a game to practice their long division! Have your child grab a pencil and piece of lined paper. She should review her multiplication facts by completing the following problems:

                          1. 3x2=____                  6. 7x4=____

                           2. 4x5 = _____              7. 8x3 = ____

                           3. 6x7= _______           8. 5x8 = ___

                           4. 8x9 = _____               9. 9x5 = ___

                           5. 9x9 = ____                10. 10x10 = ____

Step 2:
Check your child's answers to the problems in Step 1. If she still seems unsure of some multiplication facts, it wouldn't hurt to add a few more problems as a review.

When she’s ready, ask her to use magic markers to create number tiles on the magnetic roll for each of the numbers in these series’:

2 sets: 0-9                                   one division sign

1 set: 10-100                               one decimal point

Step 3:
Have her use scissors to cut apart each magnetic number tile.

Step 4:
Have your child use a large baking sheet (or the side of your fridge) and the magnetic number tiles to complete the following problems:

                    1. 250 divided by 2                  5. 3478 div. by 62

                    2. 1075 div. by 50                     6. 8120 div. by 89

                    3. 6728 div. by 46                     7. 9671 div. by 34

                    4. 9258 div. by 71                     8. 754 div. by 12

Remind her to show a decimal point when needed. Help her to check her answers. You can extend this activity by adding more problems with larger numbers. Be sure to have her practice using even and odd numbers.

Extension:
She can also use these to practice her multiplication facts by creating an "x" sign magnet.