Beacon Lesson Plan Library

Folded Fractions

Liz West

Description

Students use various geometric shapes to represent fractional parts.

Objectives

The student writes informally (for example, journal entries, reading response, poetry).

The student represents, compares, and explains halves, thirds, quarters, and eighths as part of a whole and part of a set, using concrete materials and drawings.

Materials

-Small brown paper sacks, one for every two children
-10 pre-cut geometric shapes for each paper sack (two circles, two triangles, three squares, and three rectangles)
-One sheet of paper for each student

Preparations

-Gather materials, (paper and small paper sacks)
-Cut three rectangles, three squares, two circles and two triangles for each set of partners
-Write the numbers 2 and 4 on the circles, 2 and 3 on the triangles, and 2,3,and 4 on the squares and rectangles.
-Place three squares, three rectangles, two circles, and two triangles in each bag.

Procedures

1. Explain to the class that today, they will be working with different shapes and dividing them into equal parts.

2. Tell them that they will be working with a partner to complete the activity.

3. Pass out the brown paper sacks to each pair of students.

4. Explain to the students that one person will take a shape out of the paper bag and will fold the shape into the number of equal parts that is written on that shape. For example, if the shape is a square with the number four written on it, then the child would have to fold the paper to make four equal parts.

5. Then, the partner checks the work.

6. Instruct the children to take turns, each time picking a new shape from the bag.

7. When the students have used all of the shapes in their bags, have them write on their sheets of paper what they learned about making equal (fractional ) parts. Students should be able to deduce that the more times an object is folded or the more parts there are, the smaller the fraction.

Assessments

Student assessment will be based on how well the students are able to communicate their ideas on paper. This would be for the Sunshine State Standard as well as the Goal 3 Standard. Satisfactory - Student shows an understanding of the concept and is able to communicate the ideas effectively. Needs Improvement - Student does not understand the concept and is not able to communicate the ideas. For children who have difficulty with writing at this point, this could be done orally or by teacher observation.
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