When students were posed with this question:
Kyle read 2/3 of his independent reading book. Justin also read 2/3 of his
independent reading book. Kyle said he read more pages than Justin did.
Justin said they both read 2/3 of their books so they read the same amount.
Who is correct?
95% of the students said Justin was right. The one student that questioned that said she didn't think he was right, but also added, "I really don't know."
So the teacher and I put our heads together. We used a LearnZillion Lesson as a spring board for our lesson.
As we thought about posing this inquiry scenario, our goal was to make this learning accessible to all. It's one thing to see this visual illustration, but we thought we could really reach students by having them simulate the planning of these two gardens. Manipulates were the answer!
As the students used the hexagons and triangles, the partnerships instantly embarked in engaging conversations about the value of the triangle in each garden.
We, the teachers, really gave the students control of their learning and boy, did they run with it. Themes included:
The students even went on to share that Meg's garden would need to have 2/12 planted to equal 1/6 of Sam's garden - and we have not even introduced equivalent fractions yet.
Of course, the true test is when students can explain their reasoning independently.
So as I reflect on this lesson I know that making these fraction lessons as hands-on as possible will make the learning as accessible as possible for all learners.
Stay tuned as we continue our journey to deepen fraction understanding!
Being a middle level teacher and now middle level coach, I love and appreciate how you're presenting students with problems that help them thinking deeply about fractions and the concept of a whole. Thanks for sharing!!
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