Decimal Division Strategies and Sense Making for 5th Grade
This lesson write-up is for any 5th or 6th grade teacher who wants to have students explore decimal concepts and refine decimal skills while solving an interesting, low-floor investigation. The lesson covers mostly the decimal division standards (5.NBT.6, 5.NBT.7, 6.NS.3) using Graham Fletcher’s Tomato-Tomato lesson. The activity is accessible to all learners and offers multiple approaches to a solution. The write-up contains a lesson pathway with specific questions and instructional moves to consider, analysis of the opportunities for student learning, and other wisdoms and insights we learned from teaching this lesson as a part of a lesson inquiry.
Give it a try with your own students. And then tell me how it went. Let’s get better together.
