Activities similar to those in Year 2, such as dividing objects into groups, sharing out snacks, or solving real-life word problems, can make division more meaningful and relatable for children. Regular practice with division facts and reinforcement of the relationship between multiplication and division is essential for building fluency and understanding.

Several key mental strategies are used in Year 3, including:

• knowing the effect of dividing by 1
• knowing the effect of dividing by 10
• dividing by 4 by halving and halving
• rapid recall of halves of numbers.

In Year 3 children will increase their knowledge and begin to work with the 3x, 4x and 8x tables. The link between multiplication and division will be taught and used to derive other facts (e.g. if you know that 4 x 5 = 20, you also know that 20 ÷ 4 = 5 and 20 ÷ 5 = 4).

Dividing a 2-digit number by a single digit is introduced, often with the help of partitioning. For example, when dividing 48 by 4 the 48 can be partitioned into 40 and 8. 40 ÷ 4 = 10 8 ÷ 4 = 2, therefore 48 ÷ 4 = 10 + 2 = 12

Remainders are introduced as are simple written methods.

It is important to encourage children to explain their thinking and solving problems collaboratively can further enhance their understanding of division.