Cara Carroll

Fractions in Action

Ummm…would you think any less of me if I told you that I was NOT excited about teaching fractions?!  When I saw what our TE was offering in terms of lessons and activities, I fell asleep.  NOT my idea of a good time.  So I spiced it up and made teaching & learning about fractions fun for me AND the kids!!  I really do believe in setting high expectations and BELIEVING that ALL of my kids are capable of meeting those expectations…and y’all…they never disappoint!! 

After a couple of weeks of fraction activities, I’m excited to say that my kids now know the difference between a numerator & denominator {and use that verbage to distinguish between the two!!!!}, and they are absolute ROCKSTARS at creating/modeling/writing/and identifying simple {and some equivalent} fractions!!!  What started out as a daunting task has now turned into one of my favorite things to teach!  And the kids are loving it, too!!

I introduced the concept with a SMARTboard activity I found on the Smart Exchange.  After that, my kids created a fraction booklet to keep in their math journals and use as a reference.  Loved it!  If you’re interested, this little booklet & the instructions are in my Fraction Action Unit on TpT!!

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Speaking of the SMARTboard {my new BFF}, I found the most wonderful online game site that reinforces fractions in a FUN way and we LOVE playing these activities on our SMARTboard…both whole group and for math stations/tubs!!  You can check it out HERE {TONS of fun games…for lots of different concepts…but our favorite fraction game is FRACTION SHOOT!!  SO fun!!}  And these aren’t specifically designed for the SMARTboard, so your kiddos can play these when they visit computers!!!  Mine visit this site during their math rotations and they love it!!! We’ve been playing LOTS of fun, hands-on fraction games in our math tubs, too!!

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I’ve included 5 games and 8 activities and printables in my Fraction Action Unit on TpT, so if you’re interested you can head over to my little shop and check it out. Speaking of activities, here’s a little craftivity included in my Fraction Action Unit.  My firsties will be making these this week!!!

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For this activity, you’ll need construction paper, pom poms {or multi colored stickers} and the printable {which you can download for free HERE}.  Have your kids choose three different colors to create their own fraction caterpillar.  They can add googly eyes, antennae, and legs, too!!  Once they’re finished with the creating piece, they will record the fractions for each color of their caterpillar.  Can’t wait for my firsties to do this…they’re gonna LOVE it!!! If you’re looking for more fraction activities and games, you can check out my little Fraction Action Unit on TpT 🙂 Happy weekend, friends!!!  Enjoy every last minute!!!  I hope the weather is as beautiful where you are as it is where I am 🙂 

 

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Comments

  3. Suzanne says

    Oh. my. gosh.
    You are just too adorable and I might love you more than Diet Dr. Pepper at the moment. I may or may not have been banging my head against the wall trying to find an intersting way to teach fractions…YOU SAVED ME!!!! I just bought a few things from your TPT store last night…I need a frequent buyer card of some sort.
    Thanks again!!!

    Reply

  4. Jacqueline Hooton says

    The fractionpillar is absolutely precious! I love the idea. I somehow wandered onto your blog last night, and I love it. You are such a wealth of information and great ideas! I am a senior in college pursuing my degree in elementary education. I'm in my second internship now, student teach this fall, and I graduate in December. I worked in first grade during my first internship and fell in love with the cuties. I shared your blog with several of my intern friends, hope you don't mind. 🙂

    Reply

  5. Mrs. Z says

    Hi! I love your fraction ideas! I loathe teaching fractions, our math series isn't the most fantastic and seems kind of confusing for the kiddos. I just purchased your unit on TPT, but when it downloaded there are black lines throughout most of the pages. Do you have any suggestions for fixing this? You can e-mail me at hzehnder@bluevalleyk12.org.

    Thanks so much! I really appreciate all your adorable ideas!

    Heather

    Reply

  8. Kathleen says

    It IS all about expectations, isn't it?! I always set my expectations high, and those kids never disappoint – in fact, I find myself shaking my head in amazement every single day at the things they can do. The fraction unit looks fantastic!

    Reply

  9. Kerri and Lindsay says

    Oh yea, I will be buying this unit TONIGHT! I don't even know when fractions are coming, but I'm buying it anyway! LOVE the fractionpillar, me thinks I will be including this in my Rainforest Open House! YIPPEE!
    Cara, you are the best!
    Kerri B
    teacherbitsandbobs.blogspot.com

    Reply

  13. Mrs. Lynes says

    I have been meaning to leave you a comment to say that you are AWESOME! I found your blog about 2 months ago and you have just really inspired me! In fact, I decided to start my own blog because of teachers like you :)Keep up the awesome work!!

    Reply

  15. Ms. Hill says

    Thanks for sharing your fraction ideas. We are supposed to teach fractions this week for the 100th time. My students loved the Fractionpillar. It helped to make fractions much more fun.

    Reply

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