Friday, October 31, 2014

Fractions

I have decided that as a teacher it is not the activity that the kiddos are doing, it's the questions that go with the activity that matters.

Here's a lesson that I thought really worked well for my kiddos.
All it was was a bunch of different colored tiles in a baggy. If you don't have tiles, M&Ms would work.
They had to name the fractions, compare the fractions, understand unit fractions, denominator, decimals, and expanded form.
Plus it was hands on, and the kiddos had to work together with their partner. It's definitely a lesson I will be doing again next year!
Plus when the kiddos were done they were able to create a bar graph of their data. There are tons of different ways to extend this activity which is perfect for my GT students.


Thursday, October 30, 2014

Fractions on the Number line



One of the TEKS is
4.3.G - represent fractions and decimals to the tenths or hundredths as distances from zero on a number line.

 Fractions on a numberline is a tricky concept. Honestly, regular numbers on a numberline is tricky!
When I had my kiddos do decimals on a number line each child got a sticky note with a decimal (that was less than one). They had to do the the fraction, decimal, picture, word form, and expanded notation for that decimal. Then they had to place it on the number line.
It was tricky to remember that 0.11 goes right after 0.1.
Because 0.1 = 0.10

Today for fractions on a number line, I did this lesson. It was pretty great and it gave us an opportunity to see equivalent fractions and unit fractions.


Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Decimals



We have started Bundle Three which is all about DECIMALS and fractions!!

Developing fluency with efficient use of the four arithmetic operations on whole numbers and using this knowledge to solve problems
Students add, subtract, multiply, and divide whole numbers fluently; justify these procedures; and use them to solve problems, including developing formulas for perimeter and area.
4.4A-H; 4.5A-D; 4.8A-C; 4.9A-B

Understanding decimals and addition and subtraction of decimals
Students use understanding of base-10 place value and equivalent fractions to develop understanding of decimals as numbers and of procedures for adding and subtracting decimals.
4.2A-H; 4.3G; 4.4A; 4.9A-B

Building foundations for addition and subtraction of fractions
Students use their understanding of fractions as numbers along with their understanding of addition and subtraction to develop understanding of and procedures for adding and subtracting fractions with like denominators. Students use these understandings and procedures to solve problems.
4.3A-G; 4.9A-B



I started decimals by talking about a familiar concept... money.
Now we're moving on to straight up decimals and fractions.