Two ways to divide

1. Twelve counters and three plates. The counters are all still in the pile. There are three empty plates waiting.
2. Share them out, one at a time. One counter to each plate, then round again. Keep going until the pile is empty.
3. Four each. So 12 ÷ 3 = 4. Every plate got four. That is what 12 ÷ 3 means here. The 4 is how many are in each plate.
4. Your turn. Make it 6 in each plate. Change how many plates there are. Keep going until every plate has 6 counters and nothing is left over.
5. Now the same twelve, a different question. This time nobody says how many groups to make. The rule is 3 counters in every group. Watch what that changes.
6. Fill a group, then start another. Three counters go into a group. Then the next three start a new group. Keep going until the pile is empty.
7. Four groups. So 12 ÷ 3 = 4 again. There are four groups. The sum is the same as before: 12 ÷ 3 = 4. But the 4 is not a group size now. It is how many groups there are.
8. Quick check. Same sum, and the words decide what it means. Read the question carefully. You have 12 stickers and put 3 in each bag. What does 12 ÷ 3 tell you? How many bags · How many stickers in each bag. Yes. You already know 3 go in a bag, so dividing tells you the number of bags.
9. Your turn. Make 6 groups. Change the size of a group. Keep going until there are 6 groups and nothing is left over.
10. One sum, two questions. Dividing answers two questions. How many in each group, or how many groups. The sum looks the same either way, so the words are what tell you which.

Dividing answers two questions. Share 12 between 3 plates and the 4 is what each plate gets. Put 12 into groups of 3 and the 4 is how many groups there are. Read the words to know which one you want.