Multiplication and Division Concepts 125Fair Shares Division
CONCEPT:
What is the Fair Shares Division Concept?
The fair shares concept is similar to the repeated subtraction
concept because it is division. The fair shares concept is
different from the repeated subtraction concept because the
number of groups is known but the amount in each group
is unknown. With repeated subtraction the number in each
group is known but the number of groups is unknown.
When students work with fair shares they are partitioning or
splitting up the dividend into a specifi c number of groups.
When students partition a given quantity, they distribute
equal amounts, one at a time, much like when a person deals
out cards.CCSS
Operations and Algebraic ThinkingFormative Assessment
To fi nd out if a student understands fair shares division, give
the student a set of 48 counters and explain that the student
will use counters to model the problem.
There are 48 pieces of candy. There are four boxes. How many pieces
of candy go inside each box?
Notice if and how the student partitions the dividend. If
the student is not successful, try a similar story with easier
numbers. If the student is successful try a similar story using
numbers that result in a remainder situation.