Solving Division with the Montessori Stamp Game: READ, BUILD, DRAW, WRITE Problem: 5,382 ÷ 5

READ

• We have 5,382 that needs to be divided into 5 equal groups
• We need to find how many are in each group

BUILD with Montessori Stamp Game

![Stamp Game Setup]

Step 1: Set up the initial quantity 5,382

• Place 5 thousand stamps in the thousands column
• Place 3 hundred stamps in the hundreds column
• Place 8 ten stamps in the tens column
• Place 2 unit stamps in the units column

Step 2: Divide the thousands (5 ÷ 5)

• Distribute the 5 thousand stamps equally into 5 groups
• Each group gets 1 thousand stamp
• Record: 1 in the thousands place of the quotient

Step 3: Divide the hundreds (3 ÷ 5)

• We can't evenly distribute 3 hundred stamps into 5 groups
• Exchange the 3 hundred stamps for 30 ten stamps
• Now we have 30 + 8 = 38 ten stamps

Step 4: Divide the tens (38 ÷ 5)

• Distribute the 38 ten stamps equally into 5 groups
• Each group gets 7 ten stamps with 3 ten stamps remaining
• Record: 7 in the tens place of the quotient
• Exchange the 3 remaining ten stamps for 30 unit stamps

Step 5: Divide the units (30 + 2 = 32 ÷ 5)

• We now have 30 + 2 = 32 unit stamps
• Distribute the 32 unit stamps equally into 5 groups
• Each group gets 6 unit stamps with 2 unit stamps remaining
• Record: 6 in the units place of the quotient
• The remainder is 2

DRAW

• Draw a representation of the stamp game process
• Show how the materials were arranged and exchanged
• Illustrate the distribution into 5 groups

WRITE

• Write the standard division algorithm:

  1 0 7 6 R 2
  _________
5 ) 5 3 8 2
    5
    ---
    0 3
    0
    ---
    3 8
    3 5
    ---
    3 2
    3 0
    ---
     2

• Write the answer as: 5,382 ÷ 5 = 1,076 with a remainder of 2
• Or as a mixed number: 5,382 ÷ 5 = 1,076 2/5

Heuristic Strategy

• "Share equally among the groups, working from left to right"
• "When you can't share equally, exchange for smaller units"
• "Check your work by multiplying: (1,076 × 5) + 2 = 5,382"