Fraction Fun
4th Grade
WOW!
This unit is one of our most difficult and can be intimidating based on the way the SE's are written. Here is an example: represent a fraction a/b as a sum of fractions 1/b, where a and b are whole numbers and b ˃ 0, including when a ˃ b. It took a little while last year for us to understand this SE and what it might look like. When you think of it like this
(ex-6/8) - 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8 + 1/8 it makes more sense. Fraction development is important and your students should come in with a greater understanding compared to last year. With that said, you know they will still struggle. This Smore offers more depth than the outline and is just an additional resource.
Resources
I understand what a pain it can be to have to search in multiple places for resources but ultimately I try my best to provide you with as much as possible. The outline mentions a few documents that I want to highlight.
- Forethought-this application is where I load lessons, activities, and any other instructional piece. You should look here when planning. You will click on the unit and then drill down to what you need. If you need help navigating, please email me! I will come and show you how to get to everything!
- TEKS Clarification Document-this is a document that TEA provided for us last year to give us a better understanding of the SE. It had every SE in K-5, so I spent the time just copying your grade level to a PDF. Last year I created campus binders that had EVERY grade level and these were given to principals for PLC's. IT HAS PICTURE EXAMPLES! It is also loaded in General Resources.
- Unit Clarifications-last year we purchased a resource called Click on TEKS and I love it. Again, I copied the unit specific items and provided them for you. These have visuals and help you to understand the SE.
- Unit Outline-I create these in an effort to help with planning. These list the specific SE for the unit, provide some clarifications (that I get from the previous 2 bullets) and other resource help. It is not mean to replace your IFD-just a way to break the IFD down. I know looking at the 50 page IFD can be daunting.
- Pacing Tools-these were created by Region 10. They have questions, the PA, and suggested days for the unit. Remember that we may have given you more time (or less) than what is recommenced. So you still need to use the YAG to know the length of the unit.
C-P-A or C-R-A
You may see these two abbreviations and I want you to know they are synonymous. C-R-A stand for the teaching as a progression of concrete to representational to abstract. C-P-A is concrete-pictorial-abstract. The approach is to make sure students completely understand the skill or concept before executing the problem on their own. Concrete is the "doing" stage and allows for manipulatives and models. Representational is the "seeing" stage and this is where they transition from models to drawing their thinking. And abstract is the "symbolic" stage. This means the using equations and symbols. Students should be in the concrete stage about 50% of the instruction...DAILY! AS your unit progresses, you will still be using concrete, but also having questions that allow for a picture or algorithm. This way you can see who still NEEDS concrete or pictorial instruction.
Videos
I was recently at a PD where I got a few new ideas and I am excited to share them with you. The two videos below are examples of how to add fractions with unlike denominators using concrete and pictorial models. I took these videos of the presenter and the quality is not ideal, but I feel they are powerful tools.
DISCLAIMER!!!!
I have let the presenter know that I am sharing them and there is a level of trust that I ask you to honor. THEY ARE NOT FOR YOU TO SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA or CLAIM AS YOUR OWN! Thank you!
Concrete Fractions
Game CHANGER
This video clip is awesome and I wish that I had been taught fractions in this way. Some of you may already be using this method, but I know many are not. I hope this is a game changer for your kids. Remember that this will have to be modeled a great deal before they will truly understand what is happening. And it comes AFTER you have used manipulatives like pattern blocks or fraction strips.
Pictorial Fractions
Lessons
At the PD I mentioned above, they had a book that purchased...but it is common core. Now you and I both know that our TEKS were based on CC and there are some similarities. This book has some great activities and lesson extensions for fractions that I would like to share. The goal would be to upload them as PDF's and they would have the TEK correlation. Using it as a PDF, I can edit and alter wording necessary. I just wanted to let you know why they are such dirty copies. PLEASE ask if you are not sure about something, or if the CC language is tripping you up. I will try to get these uploaded as quickly as possible. I am also in the process of 4 checkpoints, unit tests and outlines.