Interactive Fractions

If your middle schoolers think working with manipulatives "baby-ish" but as a teacher you know they need the manipulatives to grasp the concept, this lesson is a great supplement. This lesson incorporates an interactive website that engages students in the concepts of equivalent fractions, adding like and unlike fractions and comparing fractions. After your students have had a hand at the concepts, let them design their own to further their understanding.

1 or 2 class periods

Math - Number Operations

• Understanding numbers, ways of representing numbers, relationships among numbers, number systems.
  
  • Work flexibly with fractions, decimals and percents to solve problems
    
  • Compare and order fractions, decimals and percents efficiently and find their approximate locations on a number line.
    
• Understand meanings of operations and how they relate to one another.
  
• Understand the meaning and effects of arithmetic operations with fractions, decimals and integers.
  
• Develop and analyze algorithms for computing with fractions, decimals and integers and develop fluency in their use.

Technology

• 1. Basic Operations and Concepts
  
  • Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology systems.
    
  • Students are proficient in the use of technology
    
• 3. Technology: Productivity tools
  
  • Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity and promote creativity.
    
  • Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.
    
• 4. Technology: Communication tools
  
  • Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences
    
• 5. Technology: Resource tools
  
  • Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.
    
  • Students use technology tools to process data and report results

Students will be able to:

• determine the common denominator of two unlike fractions.
  
• add like fractions.
  
• find equivalent fractions.
  
• compare fractions.
  
• construct simple models of equivalent fractions with MS Paint application.

Procedure:

• Access website: The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives
  
• Have students work through the following activities:
  
  • Fractions-Adding
    
  • Fractions-Comparing
    
  • Fractions-Equivalent
    
• After student having demonstrated competency, have them construct examples of equivalent fractions with MS Paint. (See Directions)

• Teacher observation
  
• Student examples of equivalent fractions
  

• The Library of Virtual Manipulatives
  http://matti.usu.edu/nlvm/nav/category_g_3_t_1.html