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Common Core Math3rd GradeOperations & Algebraic Thinking

3.OA.2: Interpret Division as Sharing and Grouping

Also written as 3.OA.A.2 and CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.A.2 · Cluster: Represent and solve problems involving multiplication and division.

Make a 3.OA.2 WorksheetAll 25 3rd Grade Math Standards

The Official Wording

Interpret whole-number quotients of whole numbers, e.g., interpret 56 ÷ 8 as the number of objects in each share when 56 objects are partitioned equally into 8 shares, or as a number of shares when 56 objects are partitioned into equal shares of 8 objects each. For example, describe a context in which a number of shares or a number of groups can be expressed as 56 ÷ 8.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 3, Operations & Algebraic Thinking · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What 3.OA.2 Means in Plain English

Third graders learn that 56 ÷ 8 can ask two different questions. Share 56 crayons among 8 tables and it asks how many each table gets. Pack the same crayons into boxes of 8 and it asks how many boxes. Both answers are 7.

Students draw both pictures and tell a story for each before division turns into a list of facts. Seeing 56 ÷ 8 as “8 times what is 56” comes next (3.OA.6), and in 4th grade the shares stop coming out even, so remainders appear (4.NBT.6).

3.OA.2 I Can Statements

  • I can explain 56 ÷ 8 as sharing into 8 equal groups.
  • I can explain 56 ÷ 8 as making groups of 8.
  • I can tell a division story that matches an equation.

3.OA.2 Worked Example

Fifty-six crayons dealt out to eight tables: the sharing meaning of division, with the grouping meaning one question away.

8 groups of 7
Eight rows, one for each table. Deal the 56 crayons around the tables one at a time and every row ends with 7.
56 ÷ 8 = 7

Mrs. Patel has 56 crayons for 8 tables and deals them out until the box is empty. Each table gets 7, so 56 ÷ 8 = 7. Pack the same 56 crayons into boxes of 8 instead and you fill 7 boxes: same equation, different question.

Common Mistakes with 3.OA.2

Writing the division backwards

8 ÷ 56 = 7 for 56 crayons shared by 8 tables

Try this: Start from the total in the story. The number being shared or packed is always written first, before the ÷ sign.

Shares that are not equal

56 crayons at 8 tables drawn as 10, 10, 10, 10, 8, 4, 2 and 2

Try this: Deal the counters one at a time, round and round the tables, so every share stays equal until none are left.

A story that asks for the total

“8 tables have 7 crayons each. How many crayons?” offered as a story for 56 ÷ 8

Try this: Check what the story asks for. A division story gives the total of 56 and hides either the share size or the number of shares.

Where 3.OA.2 Fits

Comes Before2.OA.4Find the total of an array with up to 5 rows and 5 columns by adding equal rows.2.G.2Split a rectangle into rows and columns of same-size squares and count them.
Alongside3.OA.1Read a multiplication fact as equal groups, like 5 × 7 as 5 groups of 7.3.OA.3Solve equal-group and array word problems within 100.
Comes Next3.OA.6Find 56 ÷ 8 by asking what number times 8 makes 56.4.NBT.6Divide numbers up to four digits by a one-digit number, with remainders.

Practice 3.OA.2

Division Worksheet GeneratorFree ToolDivision facts within 100 with whole-number answers and an answer key. Have students draw each fact as shares or as groups before they solve it.Within 100Whole-number answersAnswer key
Make a Worksheet
Word Problem GeneratorFree ToolSharing and grouping stories with one-digit divisors, for the “describe a context” half of the standard.DivisionEqual sharesWithin 100
Make Word Problems

Quick Check

  1. 24 stickers are shared equally by 4 friends. How many stickers does each friend get?
  2. 30 chairs are set out in rows of 5. How many rows are there?
  3. Write a story where 18 ÷ 3 tells how many groups there are.

3.OA.2: Other Names

3.OA.23.OA.A.2CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.A.2

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.