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It’s
that time of year again where fractions begin to make their debut in
classrooms and today I am so excited to share with you how I’ve taught
this unit to my kiddos. Fractions can always be tricky for some kids
because it’s the concept that a whole object can be divided into parts
and how we label those parts.
I’ve found that first, introducing money (a
dollar is divided into quarters, etc.) or time (half past, quarter past,
etc.) makes fractions easier to grasp because students have that schema
from earlier lessons in the year.
Study Jams by Scholastic
Study Jams
by Scholastic is another great resource to add to any lesson. They
provide wonderful visuals and they’re completely free! Scholastic
provides a ton of videos for multiple math and science topics, which
helps make teaching these tougher concepts a breeze.
Introduction (via)
I personally love beginning this unit with a reading of Eating Fractions because it ties in perfectly with our "sweet treats" theme. However, any of these read alouds would be a great introduction of the concept!
After reading and discussing with students what a numerator and denominator represents, discuss how to write a fraction and use examples from the book to reinforce these ideas.
After reading and discussing with students what a numerator and denominator represents, discuss how to write a fraction and use examples from the book to reinforce these ideas.
Guided Practice
Using jellybeans, pour 20 onto a desk in front of the class so everyone can see. Invite a student to come up and count each jellybean - this will be the denominator. Encourage your class, or student, to explain back to you that this number represents the “whole", or the total number of jellybeans. Repeat this step with each same-color jellybeans on the table and practice writing the various fractions that are found. Students can watch or you can incorporate class whiteboards!
Afterwards, add up each of the numerators to demonstrate that it will equal 20, which is your denominator or “whole”. I always share with my kids that adding the numerators is a great way to check their work!
At this point you can play the Study Jams video on fractions or head straight into the craftivity!
Independent Practice
For the independent practice portion of this lesson there are a variety of 'sweet' activities to choose from. Over the course of the week we read a variety of the read alouds outlined above and practice using a different activity from this bundle. Here's a peek at what we complete over the course of the week:
First, students choose four colors, which will represent their gumballs. They will decide how may they want to draw inside their machine. From there, they'll count and represent the colored gumballs as a fraction. Once the math representation is completed, they may design and color their machines and glue to their construction paper for displaying.
Another fun activity to do with the kids is fraction sundaes!
It’s another popular way to have kids demonstrate their understanding of fractions by choosing their flavors and writing out the fractions. The key to this activity (and the gumballs) is to limit the number of flavors your students can pick. The first time I did this activity I kept it open-ended to see where it would take them, but reeling it in helped my kids focus on just a few flavors at a time and focus on writing their fractions correctly. Those higher achieving students can always complete a second sundae in their math notebooks when they finish!
Cookie FractionsIt’s another popular way to have kids demonstrate their understanding of fractions by choosing their flavors and writing out the fractions. The key to this activity (and the gumballs) is to limit the number of flavors your students can pick. The first time I did this activity I kept it open-ended to see where it would take them, but reeling it in helped my kids focus on just a few flavors at a time and focus on writing their fractions correctly. Those higher achieving students can always complete a second sundae in their math notebooks when they finish!
The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchens is a fun story about diving cookies so that all the kids can have an equal amount. This story is a great introduction to this activity where students have their cookie to divide and represent the fractions they create. I’ve made templates for halves, thirds, fourths, sixths, eighths, and tenths as well as a blank one. Students represent fractions both in numerical form as well as tracing the word form too.
I tried this activity a few years ago and I absolutely love how engaged my kids were throughout the entire thing! It was so easy to prep - you just need pink and white marshmallows (or use mini to large) and place them in the baggies that will represent different fractions. I prepped these ahead of time and even created a little cheat sheet that had the fractions I created recorded so it made checking their work even easier.
Fractions can be so much fun and I’m excited to share these activities that have been proven to keep kids engaged the entire unit!
What fun activities do you plan for your kids for teaching fractions?
