Divisibility Rules

Fourth Grade Math

by Sarah Sumnicht February 17, 2017

Introduce your students to divisibility rules with a lesson that encourages deep thinking and meaningful math
talk between peers.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to use divisibility rules to determine factors of whole numbers.

Materials and preparation Key terms

Class set of Divisibility Rules divisible

Class set of Divisibility Puzzle
Projector to show video
Class set of Is it Divisible by 2? (optional)
Class set of Is it Divisible by 5? (optional)
Class set of Is it Divisible by 10? (optional)

Attachments

Learn About Divisibility Rules (PDF)

Divisibility Puzzle (PDF)
Is it Divisible by... 2? (PDF)
Is it Divisible by 5? (PDF)
Is it Divisible by 10? (PDF)

Introduction (5 minutes)

Write a large number on the board (e.g., 219,438) and ask students, "Is this number divisible by 3?"
Take a quick poll or ask for students to respond with thumbs up or down.
Explain: "Today we are going to learn some special rules that will help us recognize divisibility. By the end
of our lesson, you will know some shortcuts that will make it easy for you to determine if numbers, even
huge numbers like this, are divisible by other numbers like 2, 3, 4...!"
Leave the number written on the board to revisit at the end of the lesson.
EL

Beginning

Use a smaller number as the introductory number for students to consider such as 2,364.
Provide a student-friendly definition of "divisibility" in students' home language (L1) and English (L2) and
display it throughout the lesson.

Intermediate

Have students discuss with a partner whether or not the introductory number is divisible by 3 to activate
their prior knowledge.

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Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling (10 minutes)

Review the definition of divisible: a number is divisible by another number if you can divide it by that
number without a remainder (e.g., 20 is divisible by 5).
Hand out the Divisibility Rules worksheet and as a class complete the rule chart. Have students volunteer
examples to add to the chart.
EL

Beginning

Provide a word bank of terms needed to complete the Divisibility Rules worksheet.

Intermediate

Work together with students to create posters with visuals, words, and examples for each divisibility rule.

Guided Practice (15 minutes)

Write a two-digit number on board and ask: "Is this divisible by 2? 3? 4?" Have students raise hands or
show thumbs to respond. Repeat with several numbers.
Hand out the Divisibility Puzzle worksheet. Read the instructions aloud and have students complete the
puzzle with a partner.
Circulate the room as partners work, providing support as needed, and then review the puzzle as a class.
EL

Beginning

Place students in pairs to discuss the divisibility of the numbers presented in the beginning part of this
section.
Provide students with a partially completed Divisibility Puzzle worksheet.

Intermediate

Provide student-friendly definitions for relevant terms in L1 and English, such as "sum," "digit,"
"divisible," and "quotient."

Independent working time (10 minutes)

Direct students' attention to the divisibility challenge on the Divisibility Rules worksheet. Complete the
first two boxes as a class.
Instruct students to finish the challenge independently, using their rules chart as a guide.
Circulate the room as students work and provide support as needed.
When students are finished, review the worksheet as a class.
EL

Beginning

Allow students to work in partnerships on the Divisibility Challenge.

Intermediate

Pull aside a few students in a small teacher-led group and guide them through the more complex
numbers in this challenge portion of the lesson.

Related books and/or media

VIDEO: Rules for Divisibility Song

RESOURCE: Divisibility Rule Poem

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 Find interactive books for each child's level.

Differentiation

Support:

Provide students a pre-filled rules chart.

Provide students a partially completed Divisibility Puzzle.
Give students extra practice with with simplified worksheets (see optional materials).

Enrichment:

Have students think of a number that is divisible by all the numbers on the rule chart (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, and
10).

Assessment (5 minutes)

Revisit the number you wrote on the board at the beginning of the lesson. Ask students to look at the
number again and ask them, "Is this number divisible by 3?"
Have students reply with a thumbs up or down, then ask a few students to justify their answers.
Ask: "What else is this number divisible by? How do you know?"
Collect finished independent practice worksheet and check for understanding.
Use observations from guided and independent practice to identify students who will need additional
support.
EL

Beginning

Display a sentence frame to help students justify their answer: "I know this number is divisible by ____
because ____."

Intermediate

Allow students to discuss with a partner and use a whiteboard or scratch paper to check for divisibility
before showing a thumbs up or down.

Review and closing (5 minutes)

Show the Divisibility Rules Song (see related media).

EL

Beginning

Show the video twice with closed captions and provide definitions for any tricky words.
Ask students to state one detail they found interesting from the video in their L1 or L2.

Intermediate

Provide printed copies of the lyrics of the song from the video for students to refer to and take notes on.

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 Divisibility Rules

Name_________________________________________ Date__________________
Fill in the divisibility rules and add examples for each rule. Remember: A number is divisible by
another number if the quotient is a whole number and the remainder is zero.

Divisibility Rules

A number is divisible by... Examples

2 if the last digit is __________ (0, 2, 4, 6, or 8).

3 if the ________ of the digits is divisible by 3.

4 if the last two digits form a ________________ that is divisible by 4.

5 if the last digit is ______________.

6 if the number is divisible by both_______________.

9 if the __________ of the digits is divisible by 9.

10 if the ______________________ is 0.

Divisibility Challenge
Use divisibility rules and circle each factor that the number is divisible by.

57 84 126 230
is divisible by… is divisible by… is divisible by… is divisible by…
2 3 4 5 6 9 10 2 3 4 5 6 9 10 2 3 4 5 6 9 10 2 3 4 5 6 9 10

342 453 610 857

is divisible by… is divisible by… is divisible by… is divisible by…
2 3 4 5 6 9 10 2 3 4 5 6 9 10 2 3 4 5 6 9 10 2 3 4 5 6 9 10

916 2,058 8,616 73,260

is divisible by… is divisible by… is divisible by… is divisible by…

2 3 4 5 6 9 10 2 3 4 5 6 9 10 2 3 4 5 6 9 10 2 3 4 5 6 9 10

Copyright © 2016 Education.com LLC All Rights Reserved

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 Divisibility Puzzle

Name_________________________________________ Date__________________
Use each number 0-9 only once to complete the puzzle.

Divisible by 3 and 9 0

Divisible by 4 and 6 6

Divisible by 2 and 5 7

Divisible by 4 and 9 9 6

Divisible by 3 and 5 9 1

Divisible by 2 and 9 5 4

Divisible by 6 and 5 3 0

Copyright
Find worksheets, games, lessons & more © 2016 Education.com LLC All Rights Reserved
at education.com/resources
More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets
© 2007 - 2019 Education.com
 Math

Division
Is it Divisible by 2?
Any number with a ones digit of 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8, is divisible by 2.
Circle the numbers in the strawberries that are divisible by 2.

1430
115 56

202 123
67
14

789
826 544

9998
900 31

7120
88
313

Copyright © 2010-2011 by Education.com More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets

 Math

Division
Is it Divisible by 5?
Any number with a ones digit of 0 or 5, is divisible by 5.
Circle the numbers in the apples that are divisible by 5.

75 300
44

1 20

123 1501

6567
662
826

835

1000

325

499
40

691

7220

Copyright © 2010-2011 by Education.com More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets

 3rd

Is it Divisible by 10?
Grade

Math

Division

Any number with a ones digit of 0, is divisible by 10.

Circle the numbers in the watermelon that are divisible by 10.

610
432 745

51
3000 98
0

1011 397
484

540
129
60

202020 5003

77
01

32

Copyright © 2010-2011 by Education.com More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets