Year 3 Maths – inverse relationship between multiplication and division

We used bar models to understand how multiplication and division relate to each other.

This week, Year 3 have been learning about how multiplication and division are related. We have been looking at bar models to help us understand how the numbers in times and division sums are connected and what they mean when they are in different positions of a sum. Using bar models has been really helpful in Year 3 to help us visualise what a multiplication and division sum look like in relation to each other and it also aids us in recalling our times table and division facts more easily. In class, the children have been practicing drawing bar models themselves and labelling them with the appropriate inverse sums. We have also been looking at how bar models can help us to answer word problems. Using bar models is a really useful way for the children to understand the key language for multiplication and division, phrases such as; sharing equally, sharing into, groups of and lots of.

Julia Newman, Year 3 Teacher