Introduction to Fractions week 4

We are going to continue to study Fractions in Morning Math throughout April (while we do a Personal Narratives block in our Main Lesson time).

The Introduction to Fractions needs to be done very slowly and carefully to ensure there aren't enduring misunderstandings that show up later on!

Themes Covered in Week 1

Mon - K/W/L Chart

Tue - 1/2, 1/4, 1/8

Wed - Making Thirds & Halving Thirds

Thu - Fractions of a Group, Equivalent Fractions (Houses on a Street)

Themes Covered in Week 2

Mon - Fractions of a Number

Tue - Puddle Question

Wed - Reading a Ruler, Simplifying Fractions

Thu - Build-an-Animal

Themes Covered in Week 3

Mon - Restaurant Simulation

Tue - Coins as Fractions & Decimals

Wed - Operations with Fractions

Thu - Converting Improper Fractions to Mixed Numbers

Here are some Notes & Photos from week 4:

Mon - Converting Mixed Numbers to Improper Fractions

Fractions Group 1 -
Fractions of Shapes (quick review), Around the Room practice



Fractions Group 2 -
Mixed Numbers (quick review), show how to write them as Improper Fractions, Converting Mixed Numbers to Improper Fractions practice

Tue - Elapsed Time

read The King, the Dragon, and the Witch by Jerome Corsi

review reading an analog clock and look at a clock as a fraction
(half hour, quarter hour, 3/4 hour past = 1/4 hour till) and note that one minute is 1/60 of an hour and five minutes is 1/12 of an hour



do Elapsed Time practice or finish up yesterday's work as needed

Wed - Making Arrays

add new observations and new questions about fractions to the MLB

lay the foundation for tomorrow's lesson with Around the Room x, ÷

Thu - Using Arrays to Simplify Fractions

read Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille by Jen Bryant

have students review fractions by doing Fraction of a Group and Colorful Fraction Circles independently



use small stickers (check your office supply stash!) to create an array



revisit arrays using the example on my poster:



explain that 8 dots out of 32 dots is the same as saying 1 row out of 4 rows... and, mathematically, we would write this as 8/32 = 1/4

is there a way to figure out equivalent fractions without having to make a visual each time? yes!

show students how you can multiply or divide your fraction using a "special form of 1" (ie. a fraction which has the same numerator and denominator) to get a new -- and equivalent -- fraction!



have students make arrays of their own using tiny stickers and then write equivalent fractions



show them how to "double check it mathematically"
4/12 is the same as 1/3
because 4 divided by 4 is 1, and 12 divided by 4 is 3

I got the idea of the sticker arrays from this TpT lesson using Emoji Arrays. It is SUCH an easy way for children to create their own arrays. Plus, once you have actually made them yourself, you start to see arrays everywhere!

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