Multiply or Divide Decimals Word Problem Sort | Google Classroom Resource

I have learned a lot about using Google Drive to create resources for math the last few months. My district does not use Google Classroom, but we do use an LMS that allows Google Drive resources to be assigned. 

When students read word problems, they may struggle with deciding on what operations to use. Throw some decimals in there, and some get really confused. 

I made this sort in Google Slides. It has 10 word problems which similar situations. Students have to sort them into columns based on whether they will use multiplication or division to solve. 

When I introduce this topic to students, I ask them to do 2 things. 

1. Replace the numbers in the word problem with whole numbers. Does that make it easier to decide the operation to use?

2. Look for the Total. Do you have the total? Or are you looking for the total? If you have the total and you are splitting it into equal groups, it is division. If you are looking for the total and you have equal groups you need to combine together to get the total--its multiplication. 

Click here to get the sort to add to your Google Drive.