This past week in Math we explored the more
friendly side of fractions…and I become more friends with fractions as opposed
to enemies. We started the class with an open-ended problem and got our minds
thinking about fractions. I enjoyed Patricia’s activity with think of any
fraction, a fraction we each liked and can draw it out however we liked. This
activity built on to the next, which was to work with our elbow partners and
add our fractions together. This beginner activity started individually and
then got us to work collaboratively and start working with different fractions,
different manipulative tools and get us to start talking fraction vocabulary.
As an educator I would walk around the classroom at this time see how students
are working together, get a feel of there current knowledge is with fractions
and then bring it back together as a whole class and share each other’s
fractions and work of adding the fractions. This beginning activity will be
added to the toolbox of lesson plans in mathematics.
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| My favourite fraction 5/8 |
Working with fractions has always been very
difficult for me to grasp as a student. Some of the more difficult things I
found myself struggling with fractions were to simplify large fractions to the
lowest possible fraction, add/subtract/multiply or divide mixed fractions and
to get them to an improper fraction. One tool that helped me visually understands
fractions this week were the different manipulatives used in class. One
specific key concept I would like to take away from fractions and try to
implement into future lessons is the practicality to real situations; for
example comparing boys and girls in a family. As a teacher candidate learning
about fractions for me can be discouraging at times. I find it hard to
understand how to operate them, and work with them to solve problem solving
questions. I would definitely take any opportunities I can to continue learning
about fractions until I understand them comfortably to teach them.
The different lesson presentations were
done well by each candidate. I enjoyed Sarah’s lesson plan because she
connected math with another subject area and for me I personally work a lot
with physical education (being my background) and try to connect it to other
subjects such as math, literature and tech class. This particular lesson plan not only
introduced basic fractions but related them to reading musical notes and also
being able to physically clap out the beats. Harpreet’s lesson plan also
allowed students to find fractions simply from our names. I thought this was
creative and very practical and could show students that fractions exist in
places we wouldn’t consider to have fractions.
Hi Patricia,
ReplyDeleteLike you said it is so important to get students to become comfortable with certain areas of math by making them relatable. The comfort level then determines how well they absorb the next stage in a lesson, since math builds on concepts learned previously. It is vital that a student's foundation is strong before the next concept is introduced. Since fractions can be a harder concept to grasp for many kids, the manipulatives introduced in class I feel are great tools to help deepen their understanding.