Dividing Decimals By Powers of 10

Beginning

• Tell students to discuss the meaning of "exponents," "power of ten," and "equivalent," and share some of the examples you will show during the lesson. Have students speak with sympathetic partners that can understand their L1.
• Give students vocabulary cards and allow them to draw visuals for the new terms. Provide them with reference materials in their L1 to look up new terms.
• Encourage them to use the vocabulary cards for assistance in their peer discussions.
• Provide sentence frames for their partner sharing:
  • "The meaning of the word ____ is ____."
  • "An example of the word ____ is ____."
  • "One pattern I noticed is ____. I wonder if the pattern will continue to ____."
  • "I see ____."
  • "I notice ____."

Intermediate

• Have students restate key information you explained, such as the meaning of "exponents," "powers of ten," and "base number." Have them mention the examples you gave them.
• Allow them to use their whiteboards to write down the whole number equivalents for the base number and its exponents (e.g., 10⁵ is 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10). Have them explain how they know they need to write 10 five times in the multiplication sentence.

Beginning

• Ask students to tell what they notice about the expressions before mentioning they are powers of 10.
• Allow students to tell their partners their answers. Encourage them to use their notes when speaking with a partner about their answer.
• Review key terms, such as "divisor," "dividend," and "quotient" with students.

Intermediate

• Have students explain the process of solving for the powers of 10 (i.e., multiplying by 10 a certain number of times) before solving for the expression 37.5 ÷ 10⁴.
• Tell students to share their answers with a partner before sharing them aloud with the class.
• Have them discuss the pattern of the decimal moving to the left based on the number of zeros in the divisor. They should conclude that the power number corresponds with the number of zeros in the whole number which corresponds with the number of spaces the decimal moves to the left.

Beginning

• Shorten the assignment to allow time for students to explain their process to the teacher or a partner.
• Provide students with a word box of key terms they can use to complete the sentences frames in the ESL worksheet.

Intermediate

• Have students share their answers in partners. Provide sequencing words for guidance (e.g., "first, "then," "next").
• Explain how to use the sentence frames through the ESL worksheet and model how to use them. Ask students to repeat your sentences.