Teacher Information: Rectangle Division

Rectangle Division should be paired with Rectangle Multiplication, where a product is seen as copies of groups. Then it makes sense to view a division problem in the same way. If a rectangular array of 42 squares can be seen as six groups of 7 or as seven groups of 6, then dividing 42 by 7 is to ask how many groups of 7 there are in 42, and we can divide 42 by 8, observing that there are five complete groups of 8, with 2 of the next group of 8 left over. This manipulative graphically shows the quotient and any remainder, and the user (or teacher) can ask for division of any number less than 100.