How did you fare on the Frustrating Fractions Quiz? With so many apparent inconsistencies, we can all see why children (and their teachers) get confused. And yet, fractions are vital to our children’s test scores — and scores are important to college admissions officers. What is a teacher to do? Must we tell our children, “Do it this way, and don’t ask questions”?
Parents and teachers are tempted to wonder if the struggle is worth it. After all, how often do you divide by a fraction in your adult life? If only we could skip the hard stuff…
5 out of 4 People Have Trouble with Fractions
However difficult it may be, our students need to understand fractions. They need to know what fractions mean and how to make them work. Fractions are the necessary foundation underlying algebra, and algebra is the gateway to all higher mathematics. Therefore, we must help our students conquer this math monster.
Which means we teachers must learn to understand fractions ourselves.
Over the next several weeks, I hope to take you back to the beginning and strengthen your foundations. We will talk about fraction basics. We will learn three models for understanding and teaching fractions. We will play fraction games, and we will eat a few brownies.
And along the way, we will learn:
What Elementary Students Need to Know About Fractions
- How to read a fraction.
- How to work with fraction families.
- “Of” means multiply.
For Older Students, Add Three More Ideas
- A fraction is a division problem.
- A fraction is a comparison.
- A fraction is a reciprocal.
This post is part of the Fraction basics series.
“How Shall We Teach Fractions?” copyright © 2007 by Denise Gaskins.
Are you looking for more creative ways to play math with your kids? Check out all my books, printable activities, and cool mathy merch at Denise Gaskins’ Playful Math Store. Or join my free email newsletter on Substack.
This blog is reader-supported. If you’d like to help fund the blog on an ongoing basis, then please join me on Patreon (or choose the paid level on Substack) for mathy inspiration, tips, and an ever-growing archive of printable activities.
I just posted a fractions math game on a squidoo page that I created a few years ago. I have used it with success in 7th & 8th grade with students with learning disabilities & cognitive disabilities–they got it! They actually asked when they could play again.
Check it out and let me know your thoughts:
http://www.squidoo.com/fractions-math-game
That looks like a fun game. Thanks for sharing!
I think teaching with pictures is the best anytime it is possible. I had to write a paper for a grad class on why we add fractions the way we do. I got a “done” on the paper, as opposed to the countless marks of “redo” that led up to the final “done”. I hope it helps explain, in pictures, why we find the common denominator when adding fractions… Why we add fractions the way we do… a visual tour