I’ll admit it. When it comes to teaching fractions, I cringe a little. There is no doubt that this is a very difficult concept for many young learners. The idea of breaking something into equal parts and creating a new number is something very hard to grasp.
In order to meet all learning styles, you have to pull from all directions in order to introduce this new concept. Here are a few of my favorite ways to teach fractions to hopefully take away the frustration!
Bring on the Books!
If you know me, I can find a book to tie in with any unit! And these are some of my favorite books that I use.
Whole-y Cow is an entertaining book for all kids. Not only will it make your students laugh, but it will encourage independent thinking. With fun poems and clues, students get an immediate sense of how to apply and understand the concept of fractions.
You may want to wait and read this yummy book after lunch! You’ll have a classroom full of hungry learners if you don’t! Miss Bloom runs the Strawberry Inn. She finds her guests (and her hostess) all eating a fun midnight snack! A great book for a quick introduction to fractions!
If You Were a Fraction is a book full of rhymes that also introduces the basics of fractions. The author does a great job focusing on the definition of fractions and provides fun examples of many different types of fractions!
Bring Your Kids to the Kitchen
Learning is much more fun with food, am I right? Food is a great tool to use when introducing this new skill.
Graham crackers – This is a great way to introduce more standard fractions. One whole, one half, and one-fourth.
Kit-Kat bars – Again, another great way to introduce those standard fractions.
Hershey bars – For more advanced fractions, this is a perfect snack to use!
Apples – for a slightly healthier approach to fractions!
Center Time
There is no better way to practice a new skill than center time. But first, the best way to get the most out of centers is to practice together in small group instruction.
At this time, you can monitor your learners to make sure they are on the right track. Once you feel they are confident in trying a new skill by themselves, you place it in a learning center. In this case, these fun fraction cards are perfect for center time. You can make it independent work or create a game out of it with partners.
Just simply print the cards, laminate, cut and store in a ziplock bag or pencil box. Once your students are ready, they place the sorting mats on their desk, and sort each card into halves or fourths.
Need a quick assessment at the end? I’ve got your covered! Included in the free fraction game is a printable that you can use in small groups for reteaching or a quick assessment to see if they grasped the new concept.
You can grab these free cards and printable for your small group instruction or center time by clicking on the download link below!
Grab This Freebie
