Quick Take on ... Action with Fractions!
Really understanding what fractions are, how they fit on the number line, and
how to operate with them-add, subtract, multiply, divide-is central to learning
decimals and percentages. According to the NCTM Principles and Standards,
students in the middle grades should be expected to acquire a deeper
understanding of fractions, decimals, and percents and an increased flexibility
in using them to solve problems. Yet students may reach even the higher grades
of middle school without a firm grasp of fractions. Perhaps a change in
strategy could help? Let's offer compelling visuals and hands-on manipulation
of those fractured numbers!
Visual Fractions,br/>
http://www.visualfractions.com/index.htm
A thorough tutorial on the topic—from identifying and comparing fractions to
operations with them! Students work through interactive exercises and games. A
complete step-by-step, illustrated explanation of each subtopic is included.
Don't miss the game of
Finding Grampy, where students practice finding a mixed number in
lowest terms as they look for Grampy on the number line.
Fraction Sorter
http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/fracsorter/index.html
Using this online manipulative, students represent two to four fractions—such
as 7/13, 2/7, 8/9, and 2/3—by dividing and shading areas of squares or
circles. They then order the fractions from smallest to largest on a number
line. The visual representation here is powerful.
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives
http://matti.usu.edu/nlvm/nav/index.html
Under the middle school offerings, you will find the activity
Adding Fractions. Students must do the usual exercise of finding
equivalent fractions with common denominators, but here the fractions are
represented visually as portions of a square. Once the computer checks that the
fractions are correct, the students can drag the representations into a third
box and enter the sum of the fractions. This is a learning experience! There
are other activities on fractions as well, all worth checking out.
The Maths File Game Show
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/mathsfile/index.shtml
This BBC site offers a game that requires players to match fractions with
equivalent decimals or percentages,
Go to Saloon Snap. When a question is answered correctly, the player
can move his or her piece across the board. The goal is to be the first to
create a path across a 10-by-10 grid. It's a real math exercise and it's
motivating!