The idea of fractions being equivalent is such a key understanding for helping students develop “fraction sense” that it absolutely must be done right. Students need to see a variety of representations of equivalent fractions to help them see the...
“Understanding why a fraction is close to 0, 1/2, or 1 is a good beginning for fraction number sense. It begins to focus on the size of fractions in an important yet simple manner.” (Van de Walle/ Lovin, 2006) In this series of blog posts, I am exploring 5...
It all started with a question…where should I put 3/4 on the number line? I was starting a unit with my 4th-grade RTI kiddos on fractions, and the question was meant to activate prior knowledge and give me a baseline of their understanding. This post contains...
It’s no secret that fractions are a very difficult concept for students to understand. But why is that? Fractions are an extremely abstract concept, and without adequate concrete and representational experiences that build fraction number sense, students do not...
Fractions are such an abstract concept, and children need lots of concrete and representational (pictorial) experiences to really understand the meaning of a fraction. Concrete learning also allows students to explore concepts and build understandings of their own,...
