How to Teach Division With a Smart Board

A Smart Board is an interactive presentation system that has a computer with Smart Board software, a projector, and a free-standing or wall-mounted whiteboard. Anything that you "write" on the computer screen with the Smart Pen is instantly displayed on the white board via the projector. Included on the computer is a Smart Notebook, which replaces the need for a blackboard and chalk (or whiteboard and pen). Open the notebook, and have your students brainstorm solutions for division problems.

Instructions

1. Introduce the idea of division. Draw a picture of a cake on the notebook or import a picture of one. Ask the students how they would divide the cake up for the whole class, how many pieces there would be and how they would divide the cake evenly. Use the Smart Pen to write down ideas in the notebook as they are said.

2. Ask the students what other objects they could divide, and jot those ideas on the Smart Notebook on a new page. Ask what objects would be impossible to divide up, and why.

3. Explain to the students that by brainstorming the ideas in Step 1 and 2, they have actually been learning about division. Revisit those steps, and turn the ideas that the students generated into multiplication problems. For example, one cake can be divided into 18 equal slices, so 18 slices equal one cake. Once students see that division is just the opposite of multiplication, it becomes a lot less scary for them.

4. Save your Smart Notebook for use in a future lesson. Click on "File" and then click "Save." Name your file, and press "Enter."

Tips & Warnings

• Visit the Smart Exchange website to swap lessons with your fellow Smart Board teachers. Swap Smart Notebooks, videos, and other Smart Board materials for teaching mathematics, including division. The Smart Exchange website is the official manufacturer's website for Smart Board teachers to exchange lesson plans for free.

References

• Smart Board: Smart Exchange