Posts with the label fractions
Showing posts with label fractions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fractions. Show all posts
January 11, 2018
Sweet Treat Fractions!
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You can read my full disclosure policy here.
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?
January 14, 2016
Fraction Action: Skittles Math!
Happy Monday everyone! Today I'd like to share a little about my math unit on fractions!
It’s all about fractions and how to identify them based on the number of equal parts they are divided into (i.e. halves, fourths, sixths, eighths, etc.). Students begin to identify fractions within a set and what better way to do that than using candy?! Some teachers use M&Ms but I personally like Skittles because they don't melt and get as sticky but both work just as well.
Fractions can be a very tricky concept to teach these little guys, but getting them engaged is half the battle!
Introduction:
First, I like to make things visual and I do this by randomly picking 5 students and have them stand in the front of the class. Students must observe the 5 students I picked and must determine what is in common with them. For example, I may have chosen 3 girls and 2 boys to represent the fraction 3/5 being girls and 2/5 being boys or maybe 4 wearing sneakers and only 1 wearing boots to show 4/5 and 1/5. The kids always tend to like that activity and it poses a bit of a challenge for them.Guided Practice:
After that initial activity I introduce how we can identify fractions within a given set. This requires students to be familiar with how to write fractions and what the numerator and denominator are within a fraction. For this I like to use Scholastic's free StudyJams videos to help give the students an idea about how to write fractions. BrainPopJr is another great site for kids but that requires a subscription.Guided/Independent Practice:
Then on to the fun! After you've built up some background knowledge students can engage with their learning through this hands on activity. I called mine Fraction Action: Skittles Math! Make sure you've discussed with your class that students aren't to eat the Skittles since many students' hands have been all over them and we use them for learning, not eating. Last year at the end of the activity I did hand out mini bags of Skittles for them to take home, which helped their impulse to eat them during class.
I have created this little student handout for them to use to track their fractions during the activity. The goal is for them to see how fractions are present within a set and ours being their bag of skittles. I only use 10 skittles total since I just scoop the candies from a massive bag versus always buying the mini pre-packaged bags. It also helps me differentiate for different groups of students.
I love the graphing because who doesn’t like a little graphing practice mixed in?
February 27, 2014
Fraction Action: Gumball Fractions!
Hooray for Fractions!
OMG have we been b-u-s-y with fractions this week and I am happy that I actually have some time to share it with everyone! Today we continued with our review and I love the time we have to take a little bit of a break and do some fun activities where the kiddos get to demonstrate what they know versus completing just some handout. So, today we got started on our gumball fraction machines!
Students were given the template and I had the kids decorate their own machines (I technically was going to print the template on red construction paper but I ran out of time and couldn't get to it...so I just made them design it- which came out pretty cool).
Then, they were to pick four colors of their choosing and begin drawing in their gumballs. As you can see some students drew MAAANY gumballs and some drew only a few (I told them to draw at least 10). Luckily those who drew almost 100 found a way to keep track of them but next time I may just give them the amount.
But, with that said, I was really able to see how much they knew. The objective was to review locating fractions within a set and being able to write fractions correctly using numerators and denominators. I'm happy to say that my kiddos did great with this activity and I'm happy to share their work!
For more fraction fun for your classroom, check out my BUNDLE! This download features three different treat activities you can use to help build your student's understanding of fractions!
February 26, 2014
More Fraction Action!
Fraction Sundaes!
This week we have been doing so much thinking with fractions and I am always happy to get away from worksheets for a while! Today we reviewed a bit with identifying equal parts and we are now just beginning to identify parts within a set. What better way to do that than these fun Fraction Sundaes!? I also have to point out that my kids get quite creative with their ice cream flavors!
Some students chose many scoops and one of my lower students was able to show me that he understood parts of a whole by having only 1 scoop per flavor but correctly writing the fraction! I love how this activity lends itself to differentiation all on its own.
Next, the class will be extending their understanding by using marshmallows! This has always been one of my favorite lessons to reinforce fractions because it gets the kids moving around and engaged with figuring out the different numerators and denominators. Highly recommend this activity!
Check out more from this fraction BUNDLE over at my shop!
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