In the previous section, students related multiplication of multi-digit factors to the area of rectangles. In this lesson, students encounter division and solve the problem in a way that makes sense to them. Students find a side length of a rectangle whose area is a three-digit number and one side is a one-digit number. The context involves tiling rectangles with square tiles. This activity enables students to connect the dividend to the number of tiles in the rectangle and the divisor to the number of rectangles along one side. The provided grid encourages students to partition the area (the dividend) into smaller parts, which in turn facilitates finding the unknown length (the quotient).

In the discussion, emphasize the relationship between multiplication and division, and how students make sense of division as a way to find an unknown side length by dividing (or multiplying) in parts. Students also informally encounter leftovers in an activity in this lesson. However, they will work with quotients with remainders more formally in future lessons after they make sense of dividing with base-ten representations in the next lesson.

Which questions that you asked today would you rephrase to improve students’ ability to make connections or to help them better consolidate what they did? How would you rephrase them?