Let’s say you’re solving 3472 ÷ 15. Ask “Does 15 fit into 3?” Since 15 is definitely larger than 3, the answer is “no,” and we move on to the next step.
Does 15 fit into 34? Yes, it does, so we can start calculating the answer. (The first number doesn’t have to fit perfectly, it just needs to be smaller than the second number. )
We need to solve 34 ÷ 15, or “how many times does 15 go into 34”? You’re looking for a number you can multiply with 15 to get a number less than 34, but pretty close to it: Does 1 work? 15 x 1 = 15, which is less than 34, but keep guessing. Does 2 work? 15 x 2 = 30. This is still less than 34, so 2 is a better answer than 1. Does 3 work? 15 x 3 = 45, which is greater than 34. Too high! The answer must be 2.
Since you were calculating 34 ÷ 15, write the answer, 2, on the answer line above the “4. "
Your answer was 2 and the smaller number in the problem is 15, so we calculate 2 x 15 = 30. Write “30” underneath the “34. "
Solve 34 - 30 and write the answer underneath them on a new line. The answer is 4. This 4 is still “left over” after we fit 15 into 34 two times, so we’ll need to use it in the next step.
Leave the 4 where it is and bring down the “7” from “3472” to make 47.
We need to solve 47 ÷ 15: 47 is bigger than our last number, so the answer will be higher. Let’s try four: 15 x 4 = 60. Nope, too high! We’ll try three instead: 15 x 3 = 45. Smaller than 47 but close to it. Perfect. The answer is 3, so we’ll write that about the “7” on the answer line. (If we ended up with a problem like 13 ÷ 15, with the first number smaller, we would need to bring down a third digit before we could solve it. )
Remember, we just calculated 47 ÷ 15 = 3, and now we want to find what’s left over: 3 x 15 = 45, so write “45” underneath the 47. Solve 47 - 45 = 2. Write “2” underneath the 45.
We’ve got 2 ÷ 15 as our next problem, which doesn’t make much sense. Bring down a digit to make 22 ÷ 15 instead. 15 goes into 22 one time, so we write “1” at the end of the answer line. Our answer is now 231.
1 x 15 = 15, so write 15 underneath the 22. Calculate 22 - 15 = 7. We have no more digits to bring down, so instead of more division we just write “remainder 7” or “R7” at the end of our answer. The final answer: 3472 ÷ 15 = 231 remainder 7
For example, let’s say we’re solving 143 ÷ 27, but we don’t have a good guess at how many times 27 goes into 143. Let’s pretend we’re solving 143 ÷ 30 instead.
If you find this difficult, just count by threes and add a 0 to the end. Count until you get higher than the larger number in the problem (143), then stop.
30 (one finger), 60 (two fingers), 90 (three fingers), 120 (four fingers). So 30 x four = 120. 150 (five fingers), so 30 x five = 150. 4 and 5 are the two most likely answers to our problem.
27 x 4 = 108 27 x 5 = 135
27 x 6 = 162. This is higher than 143, so it can’t be the right answer. 27 x 5 came closest without going over, so 143 ÷ 27 = 5 (plus a remainder of 8, since 143 - 135 = 8. )
