Just mention the word “fractions” and many students shrink. Using hands-on fraction activities to nurture understandings is a must when teaching fraction concepts and skills.
My first ever “D” – 6th grade fractions! Not a “C” – Not a “B” – a “D” !! I was devasted! I didn’t understand the, “Just do this.” There were no manipulatives. There were no visuals. For me, that meant No Understanding.
“You are not to understand why. Just invert and multiply!”
Wait! What?
But WHY??
Keeping that experience in mind, when teaching fractions, I make sure I give students plenty of hands-on activities combined with visuals. Now – I LOVE teaching fractions! And the best part is that my students love learning about them!
Pattern Blocks encourage investigation of relationships among the shapes and are a fantastic tool to help students develop deep understandings about fractions. They provide a visual image which is essential for real understandings of fraction algorithms.
Click the Picture Below.
*This article originally appeared on SumMathFun.com
Need more free fraction resources? Check out the links below.
And as always,
[…] For more about lessons using Pattern Blocks, check out this post: Hands-On Fraction Task Cards {FREE} […]