I moved this post from my old blog:
Yesterday in my math class our plans told us
to put our students into small groups and have them invent or adjust a game to
make it contain fractions. As I was walking around monitoring I heard one kiddo
say "Fraction Hopscotch" That's all it took! From then on my mind went in
overdrive trying to sketch a perfect layout on paper.
I pulled out our STAAR (our state mandated test) resource page (page kids can rip out and use during test with helpful formulas/info). I looked closely at the hash marks and how each one was represented on the "inches" side of the paper.
Then I grabbed a roll of painters tape and spent my ENTIRE conference period (45 minutes) putting down the tape and figuring it all out.
Here is what I came up with:
I pulled out our STAAR (our state mandated test) resource page (page kids can rip out and use during test with helpful formulas/info). I looked closely at the hash marks and how each one was represented on the "inches" side of the paper.
Then I grabbed a roll of painters tape and spent my ENTIRE conference period (45 minutes) putting down the tape and figuring it all out.
Here is what I came up with:
Isn't it
AWESOME???!!!!???!!!!???!!???!!???!!???!
The students stand
on "ZERO" lightly roll a
balled up piece of
paper onto a fraction.
Then they hop on
the squares and SAY the name of each fraction.
When they land on a
double they have to name the equivalent fractions
"One fourth is
equal to two eighths"
some of my students
even say:
"One fourth is
equivalent to two-eighths"
Which makes me OH
SO HAPPY
The tricky one is
1/2 because there are 3 squares.
Our solution: first
straddle it and say it then jump do a half
turn in the air
(that's how we roll in my room) land with both
feet on one half
and then name all three fractions that are equivalent
THEN
if you're really
fancy you finish the hopscotch the second half of the way facing
backwards.
OR
you can start it
facing backwards and turn forwards at the 1/2 point.
Either way. . .you
have to turn. . .it's what the cool kids are doing ;)
Enjoy :)
*you can also just
draw this out with chalk outside*
By doing this
students are practicing: Ordering fractions, equivalent fractions, reading a
ruler, understanding hash mark lengths on a ruler, preparing to use resource
page on state test, how to make math applicable in real FUN situations ;)
