Teacing Fractions
In order to teach students the concept of equivalence when working with fractions with unlike denominators or finding equivalent fractions, there are some skills that the students must already possess. These are as follows: Students are able to both recognize and write fractions Students understand the ‘breakdown’ of a fraction where the top is the numerator and the bottom is the denominator Students must have some understanding of equivalence and what it means Students must be able to both multiply and divide with relative ease
The concept of finding equivalent fractions could be introduced using manipulative. One of these manipulative that would be extremely useful would be the pies. The ‘pie kit’ could be made or purchased, but both would include a large amount of pies with each being cut into different sizes with each ‘slice’ having a specific value on it (i.e. 1/3, 1/4, 1/2, 1/16, etc.). Using this visual manipulative, students would able to see the equivalent of various fractions (i.e. 1/2 is equivalent to 2/4 and 3/3 is equivalent to 16/16).
The steps for finding equivalent fractions would begin by having an overhead (for a large class) or having the children at a large group table (for a smaller class). Either one of these ways would allow the teacher to utilize the pie manipulative to show the students equivalents. To begin the students could see that to make a whole (1), that there are a certain number of pieces needed. For example, students would learn that 2 pieces of the pie that are 1/2 is the same or is equivalent to 1 whole. This could be done with some of the other fractions also. Next the students could take just a portion of the whole, such as 1/2 and determine how many of another fraction would ‘fit’ onto that pie piece. For example, the students would determine that 3 pieces of the pie that are 1/6 fit, which means that 1/2 is equivalent to 3/6. The students could practice the equivalent fractions in a group following the
The concept of finding equivalent fractions could be introduced using manipulative. One of these manipulative that would be extremely useful would be the pies. The ‘pie kit’ could be made or purchased, but both would include a large amount of pies with each being cut into different sizes with each ‘slice’ having a specific value on it (i.e. 1/3, 1/4, 1/2, 1/16, etc.). Using this visual manipulative, students would able to see the equivalent of various fractions (i.e. 1/2 is equivalent to 2/4 and 3/3 is equivalent to 16/16).
The steps for finding equivalent fractions would begin by having an overhead (for a large class) or having the children at a large group table (for a smaller class). Either one of these ways would allow the teacher to utilize the pie manipulative to show the students equivalents. To begin the students could see that to make a whole (1), that there are a certain number of pieces needed. For example, students would learn that 2 pieces of the pie that are 1/2 is the same or is equivalent to 1 whole. This could be done with some of the other fractions also. Next the students could take just a portion of the whole, such as 1/2 and determine how many of another fraction would ‘fit’ onto that pie piece. For example, the students would determine that 3 pieces of the pie that are 1/6 fit, which means that 1/2 is equivalent to 3/6. The students could practice the equivalent fractions in a group following the