Sunday, April 3, 2011

Fractions in Action

Ummm…would you think any less of me if I told you that I was NOT excited about teaching fractions?! When I saw what our TE was offering in terms of lessons and activities, I fell asleep. NOT my idea of a good time. So I spiced it up and made teaching & learning about fractions fun for me AND the kids!! I really do believe in setting high expectations and BELIEVING that ALL of my kids are capable of meeting those expectations…and y’all…they never disappoint!! After a couple of weeks of fraction activities, I’m excited to say that my kids now know the difference between a numerator & denominator {and use that verbage to distinguish between the two!!!!}, and they are absolute ROCKSTARS at creating/modeling/writing/and identifying simple {and some equivalent} fractions!!! What started out as a daunting task has now turned into one of my favorite things to teach! And the kids are loving it, too!!

I introduced the concept with a SMARTboard activity I found on the Smart Exchange. After that, my kids created a fraction booklet to keep in their math journals and use as a reference. Loved it! If you’re interested, this little booklet & the instructions are in my Fraction Action Unit on TpT!!

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Speaking of the SMARTboard {my new BFF}, I found the most wonderful online game site that reinforces fractions in a FUN way and we LOVE playing these activities on our SMARTboard…both whole group and for math stations/tubs!! You can check it out HERE {TONS of fun games…for lots of different concepts…but our favorite fraction game is FRACTION SHOOT!! SO fun!!} And these aren’t specifically designed for the SMARTboard, so your kiddos can play these when they visit computers!!! Mine visit this site during their math rotations and they love it!!!

We’ve been playing LOTS of fun, hands-on fraction games in our math tubs, too!!

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I’ve included 5 games and 8 activities and printables in my Fraction Action Unit on TpT, so if you’re interested you can head over to my little shop and check it out.

Speaking of activities, here’s a little craftivity included in my Fraction Action Unit. My firsties will be making these this week!!!

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For this activity, you’ll need construction paper, pom poms {or multi colored stickers} and the printable {which you can download for free HERE}. Have your kids choose three different colors to create their own fraction caterpillar. They can add googly eyes, antennae, and legs, too!! Once they’re finished with the creating piece, they will record the fractions for each color of their caterpillar. Can’t wait for my firsties to do this…they’re gonna LOVE it!!!

If you’re looking for more fraction activities and games, you can check out my little Fraction Action Unit on TpT :)

Happy weekend, friends!!! Enjoy every last minute!!! I hope the weather is as beautiful where you are as it is where I am :)

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