Mystery Number Match

This worksheet is designed to help students in Grades 3 and 4 strengthen their conceptual understanding of division by matching division equations with missing dividends to repeated addition models that show how the starting number is built. Students analyze each divisor-quotient pair, examine equal-group addition patterns, and determine which model correctly represents the hidden dividend.

Skills Reinforced

• Connecting Division to Repeated Addition (Grades 3-4)
  Understand division as grouping and repeated addition as its inverse.
• Reasoning with Missing Dividends
  Reconstruct unknown starting values using structure and patterns.
• Algebraic Thinking Through Matching Patterns
  Compare equations and models to identify equivalent relationships.
• Understanding Equal Groups
  Recognize how equal groups accumulate to form a total.

Instructional Benefits

• Concept-Focused Matching Activity
  Requires analysis of structure rather than straightforward computation.
• Model-to-Equation Connections
  Links symbolic division expressions to concrete repeated addition models.
• Supports Flexible Thinking
  Encourages students to move between multiple representations of the same idea.
• Algebra Readiness
  Builds comfort with unknowns and functional relationships.
• Flexible Use
  Ideal for guided practice, math centers, enrichment, intervention, assessment, or homeschool lessons.

This printable worksheet helps students uncover the “mystery number” by thinking about how dividends are formed from equal groups. By matching division equations to repeated addition models, learners deepen their understanding of inverse operations and number structure. The activity promotes careful reasoning, pattern recognition, and confidence working with missing values-essential skills for advanced division, multiplication, and early algebra.

This worksheet is part of our Division as Repeated Subtraction Worksheets collection.