Week 4 - Fractions
08:29:00Fractions don't seem to be the most popular topic with students, and I can certainly relate. It's not that I find fractions to be extremely challenging, but rather that I do not find them to be particularly engaging. For whatever reason, fractions often felt abstract to me, and I did not enjoy comparing them. As many young students will affirm, it is sometimes tricky to envision the difference between fractions with uncommon denominators, such as 4/5 and 5/9.
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| Amos, Evan. (2010, August 28). Regular Hershey's Bar [photograph]. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2eL8pEF |
In class we discovered some ways that can help students visualize fractions more readily. In order to introduce the concept of fractions in a practical and relatable way, it was suggested to read a book about fractions. We listened to a YouTube reading of The Hershey's Milk Chocolate Fractions Book which illustrated the use of fractions using the ever-popular chocolate treat.
I personally found the book to be boring, as it did not incorporate any sort of story into its pages. However, I can still see how this book can be helpful to students who are first trying to comprehend fractions. Diving a chocolate bar is something we can all relate to, and it clearly visualizes the concept of dividing a whole. A storyline or plot could make the book more engaging, but nevertheless, The Hershey's Milk Chocolate Fractions Book still achieves its purpose.
Another way to familiarize students with fractions is by using Domino pieces, as we did in class. For example, the domino displayed below would represent the fraction 4/6. Students could then take this activity a step further by attempting to write this fraction in as many unique way as possible, using common fractions, percentages and decimals.
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| Molumen. (2006 December, 26). Domino [vector illustration]. Retrieved from http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/15077 |
I think getting comfortable with expressing fractions using a variety of methods is the key to mastering this unit in mathematics. Once students feel comfortable enough to express fractions using a variety of different expressions, they will be able to excel.
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