Fraction Creations (Large Group)
Purpose: Flexibly use a unit fraction as a unit of measure to create a proper fraction
Description: Students use unit fraction strips to draw specified proper fractions.
What To Say and Do
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1
Provide each student with one set of colored fraction strips (total 10 strips, one of each color).
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2
Tell students a colored strip to select, saying, “If the strip you have is one-third of a whole, draw what two-thirds would look like.”
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3
Observe how students use the unit fraction to draw the given proper fraction.
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4
Once students have their proper fraction drawn, ask them to turn and share with a partner the fraction they drew and discuss how it compares.
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5
Facilitate a group discussion about how students used the unit fraction to draw and confirm the fraction bar they drew. Consider using the following questions:
- How did you use the unit fraction strip to draw the new fraction?
- What did you attend to in order to accurately draw the fraction?
- How did your fraction bar compare to your partner's fraction bar?
- How did the size of your unit fraction strip impact the length of the new fraction you drew?
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6
Continue the lesson by asking students to select a new unit fraction and present a task with a new proper fraction.
Variations
Use large paper rolled out to allow for less restriction on the size of the proper fractions being created.
Facilitate the lesson by asking students to self-select a colored strip as their unit fraction.
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