Teachers, save “Math: Choosing Multiply or Divide” to assign it to your class.

Teacher Notes (not visible to pupils)

This activity checks students' ability to choose the correct operation for word problems (multiply vs. divide). Use it after teaching keywords and the reasoning behind choosing operations. No special materials are needed beyond paper and pencil; for the multimedia prompt, students need access to a simple recording tool. For partner work, have students read problems aloud to each other and explain their choice. For the paragraph open response, a high-quality answer clearly states the chosen operation, explains why (identifies groups, sharing, total, or size of each), and shows calculations or a diagram. For the multimedia frame prompt, a high-quality response records the student explaining the operation choice, shows work or drawing, and uses correct vocabulary (groups, each, total, divide, multiply). Teachers may mark open responses correct if the student chooses the correct operation and gives a sound explanation or correct solution steps; mark incorrect if the operation is wrong or the reasoning is flawed.