Divisibility rules
Decide without dividing whether a whole number is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 by choosing the appropriate rule — the last digit (2, 5, 10), the number formed by the last two or three digits (4, 8), the sum of the digits (3, 9), or divisibility by both 2 and 3 (6) — and explain why a rule works using place value and known multiples (for example, 100 is a multiple of 4, so only the last two digits matter for 4)
Lesson
Set out your lesson
“Divisibility rules means practising the idea at the table with counters or paper models and one clear check. We will demo once, then your child tries.”
Bring to the table
- Place-value grid (ones / tenths / hundredths)
- Pencil
Extra for the adult
Worked example. Three tenths on the grid is 0.3.
Optional challenge. For Divisibility rules, add one harder example after success.
What to notice. Keep one parent note: examples tried; results; support used. This session samples Divisibility rules, not mastery.
Share and support
Family records and proof options
Keep a record of your learning
Save photos, notes, and attendance. Export a proof packet for compliance or portfolio reviews.
Practice this concept
Start practiceDivisibility rules practice
Practice key ideas from Divisibility rules.
Free · no login · no ads · Practice answers and completion are not saved. Parent observation remains the lesson record.
Learning resources
Extra practice links — they do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.
BBC Bitesize · Practice link — not the full lesson
KS3 Maths
Before you open · source notes
KS3 Maths supports Divisibility rules. An adult previews and guides; this is a learning page, not a scored quiz.
Free educational page, no sign-in required for the tested path.
Before you openAsk the learner one fact they learned and one question they still have.
Opening this link does not save learning or assess mastery.
Source, access and review notes
Public BBC Bitesize page. An anonymous GET on 2026-11-12 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt for this URL. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. An adult should preview and guide the learner.
BBC Bitesize. “KS3 Maths.” External page; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute materials.
Unknown — link only
Check understanding
- Use the appropriate rule to decide whether a number such as 4 536 is divisible by each of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10, and check one of the answers by dividing
- Explain with place value why only the last two digits decide divisibility by 4 (every hundred is a multiple of 4) and why the digit sum decides divisibility by 9 (10, 100 and 1 000 are each one more than a multiple of 9)
- Explain why a number divisible by both 2 and 3 is divisible by 6, and use a counterexample such as 12 (divisible by 2 and by 4 but not by 8) to show that combining rules only works for suitable pairs
“If your child has 1 236 stickers to share equally among 3, 4, 6 or 9 friends with none left over, can they tell which group sizes work just by looking at the digits — without doing the division?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Procedural
- Subject
- Mathematics
- Domain
- Multiplication & Division
- Age range
- Ages 11–12
Standards